Merlin Lied
by CynicAlb
Summary: Merlin said Daniel would revert back to his natural state, well Merlin Lied. My take on what happened after The Shroud, I just think Daniel got off way too easily! :D
1. Chapter 1

Merlin Lied (Working Title)

Summary: This is my version of the end of season 10, following The Shroud, I just think Daniel got off far too easily. EG

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Chapter One 

Merlin lied. It wasn't his fault not really, the old man had been freezer burned and his consciousness had no conscience, and so he'd lied and told Daniel that in the end he would be the same again. But Merlin lied, oh, the memories were gone, and the Prior stuff was gone, and Daniel looked like Daniel once again; The problem was, after four months as a prisoner of the Ori, of Adria herself, well, Daniel didn't feel like Daniel, or at least not the same Daniel, anymore. The fact remained, that Merlin lied to reach his goal, to achieve 'his plan' and now once again it was up to Daniel to deal with the leftovers.

Leftovers that included physical and psychological torture, systematic and continuous brainwashing, and gene manipulation; there, it was that last one that had him worried, the others he'd seen before, either directly or through others, that last one though about the genes, it's not like they're rubber bands that snap back into shape, and Merlin knew that and so he lied.

Sleep was impossible, if he did doze off his memories would attack him in his dreams, holding them at bay was less of a battle when he was conscious; on the bright side, he was getting so much work done! It was amazing, like everything he'd ever known was right there in his mind ready to be accessed, and if he needed a book whichever one it was, was right there on his desk before he even knew he needed it. He didn't question it, he had finally hit a 'zone' and he couldn't tempt fate just because it was a little weird; he was getting so much done! He cleared eight months of backlog in three weeks, finished projects that had been stalled for years, and suddenly he just knew how to break the translations, he knew how to crack the codes; he was on fire, and he knew it couldn't last.

"Daniel?" He could have sworn he locked that door. "Daniel, can you hear me?"

Was that a trick question? Of course he could hear her, she was right there talking to him Vala was always interrupting him with her silliness, but he didn't want to talk to her, she wasn't important.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Had he spoken aloud? He was trying to work this out, he couldn't concentrate. She had to leave. Distantly he noted that the door had opened and closed again and Vala was gone. He looked over at the panel and was satisfied to see that the door was now locked.

* * *

Cameron Mitchell had been a part of SG-1 for almost two years now, he'd seen quite a bit, both off-world and on, but he had to admit when Vala came flying out of Jackson's office and smacked into the wall he hadn't seen it coming. 

"What the hell?" he said as he came on the dazed woman. "What just happened?"

"I don't know." said Vala standing up, "One minute I was visiting Daniel hoping to pry him away from his work for the first time in I don't know how long, and the next I'm flying across the room with the door slamming shut behind me." Vala cricked her neck and felt the back of her head. "Ow!" she said. Cam tried to open the door to Daniel's office, but the card kept reading locked.

"That's weird." He glanced back at Vala who still looked a little put out. "Come on, let's get your head checked and then we'll see why Sunshine won't come out to play."

* * *

Hank hung up the phone with the infirmary, and then picked it up again to order a security team to Daniel's office. 

"Why are you ordering security to Daniel's office?" Landry looked up and saw who had just come into his office.

"Jack! What brings you here?"

"I had a feeling, and now I think I really need to know what's going on."

"I wish I knew, Vala just reported to the infirmary with a mild concussion, she says that she was thrown out of Daniel's office by an unseen force."

"What does Daniel say?"

"Nothing, no one can get in there to ask him what happened, he's not answering the phone, and the security camera went out a little bit after Vala went in there."

"How long ago was that?"

"About three hours."

"Carter and Teal'c?"

"Colonel Carter went to San Diego, and Teal'c had a meeting with the Jaffa High Council. They've both been gone about a week."

"Which is probably the last time someone checked on Daniel." said Jack, his expression grim.

"He is a grown man Jack."

"He is Daniel Jackson Hank. Didn't you get that memo on the care and feeding of traumatized archeologists?

"Traumatized? Hardly, he's been fine."

"Fine, huh? Would you be fine after being captured for four months, having god knows what happen to your mind and body? When was the last time you heard anything from him except to receive a pile of folders of completed projects?" Hank pointed to a couple of crates in the corner. "That's all from Daniel? Over how long?" Jack picked up one of the folders .

"About three weeks' worth," Hank winced.

"Three weeks! There must be fifty projects here! Damn-it, I have to get down there, he's probably worked himself half into a coma by now!" Jack threw down the file and sped out of the room.

"Jack wait, we don't know what's going on down there, he's locked himself in, Vala says she felt an invisible force knock her back."

"So he's in trouble as well as being neglected."

"Neglected, Jack?"

"Call the front gate; I'll bet he's not signed out since our little jaunt to the Super-gate." Jack stopped. "Wait that's it, that's what's wrong." He broke into a run to the end of the hall and punched the button for the elevator.

"Jack?" asked Hank as he caught up.

"Merlin lied." said Jack as he stepped on the elevator car.

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NB: So you guys want more:-D

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Daniel was dying he was sure of it, the pain in his head was excruciating, he couldn't concentrate, every time he looked down he was looking at a different project, a different idea, and he wasn't just doing translations anymore, no he'd run out of those some time ago, he'd surfed the base intranet, he'd corrected reports he'd gotten from other departments, he'd completed several projects that weren't even in the anthropological sciences. He was doing math he didn't remember learning, but instinctively knew he was right, but it was too much, too fast and he couldn't shake the suspicion that things weren't just there by accident they came to him when he thought about it, but the problem was he was thinking about everything and nothing made sense as, books, notepads, pencils, and artifacts went flying passed him.

Daniel stood up, and stumbled back over his stool, he backed himself into a corner and slid down the wall to the floor. He couldn't think because it hurt, and when he stopped thinking, he remembered and he didn't want to remember, because they hurt him so badly and he couldn't stop it, he couldn't escape, he couldn't control anything even the voices in his head weren't his own and there were voices outside too, in the darkness whispering to him always, whispering how the pain would stop if only he would bow to the Ori. Daniel's thoughts and memories swirled around him with the objects in the office, and he fisted his hands to his head as if keeping it still would calm the torrent around him. In a distant part of himself, that looked on the events and judged Daniel knew it would kill him, if he couldn't get control, if he couldn't find a calm around which the chaos could flow, he would die, on his knees screaming at ghosts, and phantoms in the dark.

* * *

Jack left the elevator at a fast run and cleared the SF from the doorway of Daniel's office. 

"Report!" Jack barked to the senior Airman.

"We're here as ordered sir, but have been unable to gain entry. There are…" The Airman paused uncomfortably.

"Spit it out Airman!"

"There have been strange sounds coming from inside."

"Can you be more specific?"

"It sounded like things being thrown against the walls, and…" he hesitated again, but Jack glared at him. "It sounds like someone is crying in there sir."

"Thank you Airman, I'll take it from here." Jack dismissed the men and stepped up to the door. He swiped his card through the lock, after a few seconds, the light on the panel went green and the door began to slide open.

"That didn't work before." said the Airman.

"Perks of the promotion." said Jack holding up his card. "Universal override." They turned back to the door. Daniel's office was dark when Jack stepped inside, then he had to duck immediately to avoid being hit in the head by a large textbook flying passed. A lamp was the only illumination in the room. "Daniel?" Jack stayed in a crouch and walked further into the room. He tried to stay below the books and other objects still circling above his head. "Daniel!" Jack called.

"Jack?" It was so faint he almost didn't hear it.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" Jack edged further into the room, and spotted Daniel crouched in the corner.

"Jack, it's too much, it's too much, I can't - I can't stop it."

Jack scooted a bit closer to the cringing man, "Daniel, listen to me, focus on me, okay?"

"No, no, no, I have to concentrate, it was a translation, no an artifact, but it was Greek or Prussian, but, but, but the derivation was Mayan of all things, but I have a theory, that the resonance frequencies in the crystals in the gate and the minerals in the soils actually have an effect on how languages develop around the gates themselves." Jack had edged closer and now sat in front of Daniel as he rambled. "I mean there had to be an explanation; it was far too convenient for it not have something to do with the gates."

"Daniel!" Jack grabbed one of Daniel's hands as he alternately gestured and grasped the side of his head.

"I mean haven't you ever wondered why so many of the worlds we've encountered speak a form of English and yet have a totally foreign written language?"

"Daniel, look at me." said Jack shaking him Daniel stopped. "You have to stop this you have to calm down."

"No, no, no, I can't calm down, I have to calm up, I have to think because if I don't think, I have to remember, and, and I just don't want to remember, and that's why I don't sleep. But, but I can't think, Jack, I can't concentrate there's so much and I can't focus. Arrgh!" Daniel cried out grabbing his head. "God, it hurts, it hurts it always hurts. Why, why, why does it always hurt?"

"I don't know Daniel," said Jack gathering his friend into his arms. "But we'll figure out how to stop it from hurting you, but you have to stay with me, you have to stop all this and focus on me. Okay?"

"I don't know how." said Daniel his voice muffled in Jack's shoulder. Jack pulled him back to face him.

"Yes, you do Daniel, you can control this, you're just tired and hurting, but you know Merlin wouldn't have given you a power you couldn't control. You can stop this all you have to do is focus, focus on me."

"Jack, I'm so tired." Jack let Daniel fold back into their hug and he held him there for quite a while.

Jack saw that the objects flying around were going back to their rightful places, artifacts on shelves, books in their right spots in the library, note-pads neatly stacked on the desk.

"That's it, just relax, now open the door, and we'll get you out of here, get some sleep." The lock disengaged and the overhead light flicked on, it wasn't until the medical team was tapping him on the shoulder that Jack realized Daniel had fallen asleep on top of him. "Okay, sleepy head, we're going to find you a nice cozy bed."

"Mmm." Daniel stirred, but didn't wake and Jack allowed the medics to pry Daniel off him and lay him on a gurney, he kept pace with it out the room and down the hallway.

"Jack what the hell happened?" asked Hank walking up to them. Jack let the medics take a lead, but continued to follow them.

"Merlin did something to Daniel when he downloaded that crap into him. We need to figure out what, so he can learn to get a handle on it, we also need to contend with the fact he probably hasn't eaten or slept in any great amounts in the last three weeks. You have to re-read that memo I sent you." For the second time that day, Jack got into the elevator and left Hank standing looking on.

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I'm so happy with the response I've gotten from all of you! This is great! I love Dannywhumping so much more when I can share it with my fellows of like minds:-D

Later, Cynic


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Well," Dr Lam said as she examined the scans and tests they taken from Daniel. "As near as I can tell, over half of his synapses are active or have been active in the last few hours. It's amazing, he's still functioning, he's exhausted to the point of collapse, dehydrated and malnourished, almost dangerously so, he's got a long road to recovery ahead of him as far as that goes, but for the other stuff, I have no idea, I don't know the extent of manipulation left over from his reversion from being a prior, and as for the psychological effects of such an experience, frankly I'm surprised he kept it together as long as he did."

"Daniel said Merlin had rigged the download to revert him back to his original state." said Hank.

"Merlin lied." said Lam, "It's as simple as that, he had all the knowledge, he knew what it would do to Daniel to embrace not just the knowledge, but the memories and conscious mind as well; it's the equivalent of filling plastic trash bag to bursting and then emptying it, the bag is warped by what was inside it, and so is Daniel's mind."

"Are you saying Daniel is brain damaged?" asked Jack.

"I'm saying I don't know, we don't know the extent nor are we sure of the areas that changes have occurred to accommodate this knowledge. I'll have to do some neurological tests when he wakes up, which I don't expect him to, do for at least a few days."

"Let me know as soon as anything changes." said Hank and turned to walk out of the infirmary.

* * *

Jack was in Daniel's office when Hank came to find him. 

"Jack what are you doing in here?"

"He finished all his work." said Jack.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean that box in your office was barely a start. Those two crates over there are complete translations of every artifact that needs translating as well as reports and impressions on the cultures that produced them, and there are also preliminary surveys on all the MALP transmissions to date."

"That's impossible."

"No, it gets better." he gestured to the stacks of folders on the table. "These are finished projects of things he's been working on for years. Machello's code, Meaning of Life stuff, a comprehensive dictionary and translation guide for every goa'uld dialect we've come across to date and one for Ancient as well. He's also got a paper here on how the crystal frequencies of the gates affect how a population will develop language and that's why most of the galaxy speaks a variation of modern English."

"My god!" cried Landry. "How did he get through all that stuff?"

"Just wait for the piece de resistance, it this little stack over here." he pointed it out on the desk a stack of about six folders.

"Dare I ask?"

"Those are technical specification and how-to manuals for the gate, the DHD, ZPM, a new and improved naquada reactor and he's re-written the dialing program apparently this one will calculate new addresses in about an hour and calls for a push consol to dial out, which makes dialing out a lot faster, and it also has built in safety features that prevent us from accidentally blowing up planets trying to get a lock."

"That was a possibility?" asked Hank baffled.

"Apparently with Carter's program we've been fractions from it, for the most part of the last decade."

"I'll get Siler in here to go through this lot." said Hank.

"It's all already been forwarded to the appropriate departments; I think these are all your copies."

"I'll have them brought up to the briefing room so my secretary can prioritize them."

"Just make sure you read them all," said Jack, "he deserves that much."

"At least." said Hank still looking at the stacks of files in wonderment.

* * *

Daniel was well aware he was dreaming, mostly because he was standing beside his own bed where he saw his sleeping form. There was peace within him in this form, that he'd never found in the waking world, and he decided that for once he was going to enjoy himself.

* * *

Ah, Daniel's in the infirmary and Jack's got full run of his office, I fear for the life of Daniel artifacts:D

Cynic


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Daniel found himself in his office, watching them take his folders; the reports that had seemed essential would now become someone's obligation to read once and then never be seen again. A folder had slipped to the floor, unnoticed 'Meaning of life stuff' the cover proclaimed of the pages spilled open and splayed to be visible only to the floor, and what did the floor care about the meaning of life? About the same as whoever was assigned to read it, and file it and forget it's existence. Daniel wasn't bitter, really; the universal language was easy when you had a couple of hundred years of ancient knowledge at your disposal and the book? The book was a contract, and treaty between the four races and probably an original draft of the protected planets treaty, but now that didn't matter, not anymore. Not in the grand-scheme of things in the universe. Daniel could have cried.

_"The universe is so vast and we are so small by comparison." _

She had told him that once upon a time, and yet she had finally given her existence to save that small insignificant piece of existence.

He had played mind games and committed genocide in the name of that same cause, but was it worth it now?

More ships meant more lives would be lost they would pay the price of Merlin's plan and they'd probably never even heard of him. Daniel watched them take the last of his reports away and wondered what was left for him, now he'd finished everything he had to do.

Was there a way to destroy the ships in his mind buried in the knowledge that Merlin had abandoned in him? Probably, but Daniel wasn't at all sure he wanted to go back there, back to his mind and body, back to things that weighed him down, and held him back.

Daniel sighed, he liked being so free, where there were no friends to strap him in a chair and tell him they couldn't trust him after ten years of him being right. There were no other people chattering in his head telling him how to react and what to think and there was no way they could hurt him now, he was beyond the pain of the physical world, things like being constantly cold, or starved, or thirsty, things like being tied to a post and beaten for hours on end until the voice in his head telling him to bow to the Ori was sounding like the good plan, or the other voice that told him not to give up and hold to his 'plan' a plan that he was pretty sure hinged on being taken on faith by three people who knew him better than anyone and had lived a life full of the unimaginable and fantastic along with him and yet could never ever take his word for anything without direct physical proof. Daniel was beyond the physical now, and he wasn't in any hurry to get back there.

* * *

Ah, Daniel angst:-D My only regret is I can't kiss it better, what with him being so insubstantial right now and all EG

Later, Cynic

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Jack sat by Daniel's bed, and Daniel stood behind him watching. Jack held Daniel's hand, and Daniel could feel it, he felt the warmth of it holding him.

"Daniel," said Jack his voice just above a whisper, but loud and clear to Daniel. "I know you're a little bit overwhelmed right now, and I get it, really I do. I know what it's like to have all that crap un-spooling itself inside your head, how bad it hurts sometimes, and all you want and can do is let it take over finish it's mission and destroy you both."

"But this is different," said Daniel stepping forward.

"I know this is different." said Jack, "and no one knows what really happened to you while you were in the hands of the Ori. Mostly, I think because we were all too afraid to ask, no, more likely too afraid that you would actually tell us. I'm on to your 'I'm fine' act Daniel, and so was Janet, Carter and Teal'c know better, but I can't blame them, they have their own guilt to deal with, they wanted for just a little while to enjoy the fact that you had survived and come back to them. They wanted to believe you were fine."

"I am fine," said Daniel, "now."

"We got all the stuff from your office, it's some amazing stuff Daniel, Siler's already started work on redoing the control room to accommodate your new dialing program. Carter's going to be so jealous when she gets back. They're both on their way, Carter and Teal'c. Carter got on the first flight back as soon as we called, and we sent a message into the council and Teal'c should be back in about an hour."

Daniel smiled he was glad his friends were coming to see him.

"I'm going to give them a good talking to, letting you not talk about stuff is one thing, but leaving you alone when you're still repressing, they really should have known better."

"I am a grown man Jack." said Daniel.

"I know what you're going to say, that you're a grown man and you can take care of yourself," said Jack unaware that he was almost reading Daniel's mind, "and you can most of the time, but clearly there are exceptions for everyone, but especially you, Daniel. You've been here near a decade and you still don't see it."

"See what?"

"You are the most valuable person in this place. No one can do what you do on a daily basis."

"There's any number of scientists on this base, who can do what I do, Jack, no one is irreplaceable."

"There is no one, who thinks like you do, not anyone Daniel. Carter and Teal'c have their own things and all your grave robbers upstairs don't hold a candle to the stuff you can do. You are irreplaceable, and that's why I couldn't let you go to Atlantis, that's why I let Vala stay, she's your project now and you won't leave her, and god help me I'm grateful that you found the Ori."

"What?" cried Daniel shocked.

"Not that they're going around committing genocide in the name of gods, but that you found a new mission, besides Atlantis, I needed for you to find a passion in this galaxy, so you would stay nearby."

"But, why?"

"Daniel you are the best friend I have ever had, we've been through more shit than any two people have a right to go through and live." Jack's grip on Daniel's hand tightened, "I know we've had our problems, but I don't get close to people, not since Charlie, you know that. It's a selfish thing really, but I couldn't let the one person who knows 'Jack' run off to another galaxy and leave me with a bunch of people who only know the 'General' or 'O'Neill'. People who really think I'm that dumb, and treat me like a brain damaged two year-old."

"I hate that stupid act."

"I know you hate the dumb bit, but it works, people underestimate a man who can barely tie his boots up, and don't start with me, you've got the 'harmless civilian' thing down pat. Same thing really."

"Harmless civilian thing?"

"I know you're going to be fine Daniel, because you're always fine, even when you're not! Lam says you might be brain damaged from what Merlin and Adria did to you. But I think you've got a hard head, and if anyone can find a way to deal with it, you can. You've got the will Daniel, the will to change things, now you have the power to do it. So you can wake up now, and tell me you've got everything figured out and that this was just a left over burst of energy from Merlin's doohickey or something."

"I don't know what this is Jack, it doesn't feel like a burst of anything, I mean I'm just lying there, asleep or in a coma or whatever. Hell, for all I know I'm brain dead and my spirit such as it is will only linger here as long as my heart beats. I don't know what's going on so I can't tell you it'll be fine, and as much as I care about everyone here, all my work is done."

"Any news?" asked Hank walking up to Daniel's bed.

"No, he's catatonic," said Jack. "Lam's not even sure if he'll wake up at all."

"What do you think?"

"I think Daniel's not home anymore, and he won't be until he's ready to face what happened to him."

"How can he do that when he's unconscious?"

"He's Daniel."

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That's all I have today tune in again tomorrow evening for another show of strength skill and cunning and maybe some blood, or not, you never can tell these days! 

Later, Cynic


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Daniel decided not to wait for his friends and so he went to see Sam, she was currently flying just over Denver, waiting for clearance to land. Daniel sat beside her as the plane made neat circles around the airport and navigated towards the landing bay. As the plane touched down, she closed her eyes for a second and sighed.

"Don't be dead, Daniel." she said is a low whisper as the plane moved toward the gate.

"I think it's too late for that now Sam," said Daniel.

A sudden force hooked him from just below his navel and dragged him backwards through the seat and from the taxiing plane. Sam shivered as she got up from her seat and grabbed her bag.

* * *

Teal'c stepped off the ramp in the gate room just as something yanked Daniel through the wall into the room. Jack walked up to meet Teal'c. 

"Teal'c! Long time no see." The two men grasped arms.

"How is Daniel Jackson?"

"Not great right now," said Jack, "Follow me," Daniel followed the two men down the hall there had to be a reason he'd been brought here.

Jack, Teal'c and Daniel stood by Daniel's sleeping form in the infirmary.

"How could this have happened?" asked Teal'c his face a mask of deep concern.

"Well, it's actually a rather simple recipe there T. You take one archeologist with an already over stuffed brain, add in the consciousness and knowledge of a very smart, but pass his prime, Ancient, simmer for four months with a half mad genetically altered semi-ascended Ori queen, add the makings of a Prior and three weeks with little to no food or rest and you get one comatose archeologist with telekinesis."

"Daniel Jackson retains the powers of the Ancients?"

"Yeah, a whole bunch of it judging from the several textbooks that almost knocked me out when I went to his office, and the fact that he's finished everything and then some."

"Of what do you speak?"

"Landry's up there reading his reports now, he's finished all his work done, nothing left to do, he's given us plans for the gates, for the DHD for the dialing program for naquada reactors, he's finished and the whole thing overwhelmed him and he collapsed."

"Will he wake?"

"That's the six-four-thousand dollar question. Lam doesn't know, she says he's probably brain damaged."

"I do not understand, I saw him before I departed for the High Council, he seemed…"

"What? Fine? Come on, Teal'c you know better than that."

"I should not have left."

"Neither should, I," said Jack.

"Look at you two." said Daniel, "You act like I fall to pieces every time you leave me alone! I am a grown man, a grown man who went through some shit excuse me for taking a time out!"

"It's been ten years and I should have known," said Jack.

"For crying out loud! It's not your fault!" cried Daniel.

"But do you blame them, for feeling responsible?" Daniel spun around at the voice. A woman stood by his bedside, looking down at his sleeping body.

"Janet?"

* * *

Always leave 'em wanting more, isn't that what they say? Well,did it work:-D

Cynic


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"You always look so innocent when you're sleeping," said Janet fondly, running her hand over his forehead.

"Am I dead?" asked Daniel shocked at seeing his friend.

Janet looked at the monitors surrounding his bed. "Well you're temp's up a bit," she said, "and you're EEG is a little erratic, but that's par for the course with you Honey, other than that you're vitals are strong, so I'm going to go with not dead. Yet."

"Janet how?"

"I'm dead, I can't check in with you guys once in a while?"

"Yeah, but why can I see you if I'm not dead?"

"Well, I'm not sure, maybe you're just weird?"

"Funny, Janet thank you, wait a minute what did you mean not dead yet?"

"Come on Daniel, you know this, the body can't live without the mind, and the mind is merely a construct of the spirit or soul. To put it bluntly you're out of your mind and it's killing you."

"What's it like being dead?" asked Daniel, trying not to dwell on his own impending mortality.

"Like being on holiday with a group of Germans," Janet grinned and then grew serious, "You've been dead before, you've been here before."

"I don't remember I never do."

"You just don't want to, they were always the stronger pull." she gestured to Jack and Teal'c still talking quietly over Daniel's bed.

"But not anymore," said Daniel almost wistfully, "I don't want to go back in there," he stood at the foot of his bed staring his own unconscious face, "It's a scary place to be inside my head, inside my dreams."

"Since when do you of all people run from anything that's hard?"

"Since the best plan I could come up with to fight the people committing genocide across the galaxy was to commit genocide on them, and the only thing that Merlin's plan has accomplished is allowing more ships in through the Super-Gate that will enable the people I was trying to stop killing people to kill more people." Daniel sighed. "He's a murderer, a mass murderer," he pointed to his sleeping form. "I can't stand what's been done to him, and I can't stomach what he's become to survive it, in short I can't be him anymore." Daniel walked away through a far wall of the infirmary.

"Well, clearly there's work to be done here," said Janet rolling up her sleeves as she went after him.

* * *

Janet will sort him out, not to worry, just kick back and get ready for a Daniel angst and whumpfest the like of which haven't happened yet, in this story:-D

Later, Cynic


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Daniel sat on top of the mountain and watched the sun set. Kind of prophetic, he thought, as Janet came up and sat beside him.

"Will you ascend again?" asked Janet.

"No, I don't deserve that anymore, and even if I did, well, I'm not sure I even want it." Daniel sighed and leaned back on his forearms. "I'm tired Janet, bone-tired, heart-tired and soul achingly tired."

"So what; you're giving up?"

"Everyone dies, you died, my parents died, Sha're died, Robert died, everyone is owed a death, why is it always such a travesty that I would want just once what's owed to me?"

"Daniel, none of those people, including me, chose to die."

"Yeah, but you have things to live for, you have Cassie, you have family, your work."

"You have your work too Daniel."

"No, no I don't I finished, did it all, nothing left to work on. I even solved the meaning of life stuff."

"So what is it?"

"What?"

"The meaning of life, what is it?"

"Oh, the meaning of life is what you make of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean the meaning is in the doing, life means what you do with it."

"So what's the meaning of your life Daniel?"

"Aye, there's the rub." Daniel sighed in the gathering gloom.

"You're not going to go all 'Hamlet' on me are you?" asked Janet eying her friend.

Daniel's lips quirked up in a smirk "What? To be or not to be?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of the 'piece of work' speech."

Daniel closed his eyes for a second feeling the twilight breezing passed him or through him, he wasn't sure. "What is this quintessence of dust? Man delights not me."

"Yeah, that bit," said Janet nudging herself closer to him, "So is it that? Or something else?"

"What?" Daniel frowned.

"The meaning of your life, Daniel, you were about to tell me."

"The meaning of my life is the meaning of theirs," he said gesturing to the slowly lighting town below."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I'm an anthropologist," he said, "I've made it my life's work to study people, who they are what they do what they believe, I focused on language in an attempt to find and give voice to those people's stories that have been silenced for hundreds if not thousands of years. People are the meaning of my life, knowing them and understanding them and embracing them."

"So what's wrong with that?"

"I finished," said Daniel, "I'm not saying I know all there is to know, that would be impossible, but after this thing with Merlin, I gained an insight that made it possible for me to come to some reasonable conclusions about my life's work."

"About people."

"Yeah."

"And what conclusions did you draw?"

"People will always do what's best for them."

"You don't believe that."

"Oh, I do, I mean that's really a simplified way of putting it, but I do believe that ultimately any people, human, alien, whatever, any of them when faced with a choice will do what's best for themselves."

"Not everyone is like that."

"No, I'm generalizing I know that there are individuals that are selfless, that put others over themselves. You're that kind of person Janet, so are most of the people on this base, but societies as a whole are selfish and egocentric. I'm no different, you know, do you think I studied Egypt because I thought I'd find a way to end world hunger or spark world peace? No, I did it because Egypt was my home, my people, and I wanted to get back there and be a part of them again, for me not for some grand design, all I ever thought about was me."

"And were you thinking about yourself when you committed career suicide at that conference in LA?"

"Well, no but it was something that needed to be said."

"And were you thinking about yourself when you threw yourself in front of that staff blast on the first mission to Abydos?"

"Jack told you about that huh?"

"Were you thinking about yourself when you tried to absorb the knowledge of the Ancients before Jack did, knowing that doing so could very well kill you?"

"Well, not entirely I mean someone had to we were on a deadline to find the Lost City."

"What about when you absorbed Merlin's knowledge? What about when you used up all your power to help your team leaving you defenseless against Adria?"

"How do you know I did that? I haven't told anyone!"

Janet smiled, "The dead have their ways, Daniel," she paused reaching for his hand. "You're a good man, Daniel you do good, for earth, for living things in general and you rarely if ever think about yourself."

"I had this conversation with Oma, before I ascended the first time, and I let her convince me that I could be more and do more up there, that I deserved the chance to try."

"You did, and you do."

"But why me? Why did I get that chance, why didn't you? You deserve to be some all powerful being more than I did, hell there are plenty of people who just die once and that's it, why am I so freaking special I keep getting dragged back on to this mortal coil?"

"You already nailed it, Honey, you're special."

* * *

Janet was always one of my favorite characters, so I had to put her in. She's the only person I could think of that would be able to kick his astral ass and make him see his own worth. Later, Cynic 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sam slid to stop just inside the infirmary, took two seconds to scan the beds and made a beeline for Jack and Teal'c.

"Has there been any change?" she asked slightly out of breath.

"No." said Jack with a long sigh, "he's still in 'a chronic vegetative state."

"Well, what's wrong with him? How are they fixing it?"

"They don't know, and they can't." said Jack.

"What do you mean they can't?" cried Sam, "We've got the best doctors in the world working here! Access to the most advanced medical technology in the galaxy! With all that are you telling me that someone here can't wake up a comatose archaeologist?"

Jack could have laughed, or cried, he wasn't sure, but watching Carter's normal reserve fail so completely and utterly in a way that was so like…him, was the most entertaining thing that had happened to him since watching Vala at the senate committee. Thinking of Vala, Jack wondered what had happened to the woman after she'd been summarily tossed out of Daniel's office some- Jack checked his watch- 12 hours ago.

* * *

Vala was beating the crap out of the heavy bag at the gym. How dare they? She fumed, how dare they prevent her from checking on her Daniel? --Punch-- She was the one who went to see him. --Kick, Punch-- She was the one who had figured he would need some help, --Jab, Jab-- maybe some comfort sex, --Kick punch-- after what happened. --Kick, roundhouse, backhand-- She was the one who cared, --Punch-- and yet who was the one who'd been rejected from the let's look at Daniel drool in his sleep club? --Punch, Punch, Punch, Punch, Kick, Kick, Punch, punch, punch… 

"Whoa, there Missy!" Mitchell grabbed the bag before the last punch landed. "What did that thing ever do to you?" he asked stepping out from behind.

"What do you want?" she asked turning away, she used her teeth to take off the tape from her hands; Mitchell grabbed her hands and began to unwrap them himself.

"You should ice these down and use gloves next time."

"They're fine," she said yanking herself free.

"No they're not; they're swollen and at least one of your knuckles is split."

"I've had worse," said Vala, barely even flinching as she pulled the last of the tape from her hands and walked away.

"Vala, wait."

"For what Mitchell?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Have you been to the infirmary?" she asked.

"I stopped by, but well, it's kind of crowded down there, you know?" Mitchell scratched the back of his head.

"That's putting it mildly, General Jack and Muscles are permanent fixtures and so will Sam when she gets here, and I know they'd break the two visitors at a time only rule for her."

"Sam got in about an hour ago; she's been down there since then."

"See? I knew it! Daniel's my friend too, why can't I sit with him for a little bit? Huh? I bet I could wake him up, I'm good at that."

Mitchell couldn't help but smile, albeit sadly. "Vala, they're not even sure he'll ever wake up."

"Of course he will," she said, dismissively, "Daniel is a fighter, if and when he does die, it'll be quick so he doesn't even have time to fight. Besides there's no way he's brain damaged simply by putting another consciousness in his head, he's already done that, hell I've done that and I turned out fine."

Mitchell eyed her skeptically.

"Trust me, Daniel might be down, but he's certainly not out, not if I have anything to say about it." With that, she grabbed her towel and walked into the locker-room.

* * *

We'll be right back after these messages from our sponsors---"Whump-alot. When regular whumping just doesn't get it done, there's whump-alot! Available now!"

:-D Cynic


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"She seems to be quite taken with you," said Janet as she and Daniel watched Mitchell walk slowly from the room.

"She's come a long way," said Daniel a tight expression on his face.

"I know people who've said the same thing about you."

"The more things change…," said Daniel with a shrug.

"You think you've changed?" she asked.

"We've all changed," said Daniel.

"For the better?"

"For the mature." Daniel sighed, "I am proud of what I've accomplished here, Janet, don't get me wrong, my contributions to this program have run the gamut, but I know I have done some good, sometimes. That's not the point."

"What is the point?"

"The point is I've done this, I've lived. I've lived I've died, I've done what most people only do once and yet I keep coming back."

"Maybe you keep coming back for a reason."

"There are no reasons anymore, I'm tired."

"So that's it? You're tired?"

"Yep."

"So if you're so tired of life and want to be dead, I have just one question for you."

"What's that?"

"Why aren't you dead?"

* * *

Shh, be very very quiet and we might be able to catch sight of that rare but wonderful, creature known in the wild only as the double post, wait I think I see it! Let's watch!

Cynic :-D


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Vala sat by Daniel's bedside, she was nothing if not resourceful in getting what she wanted. She'd snuck in after Lam had banished the others ordering them to get some sleep.

"Just you and me now Daniel," she whispered. She looked at his pale closed face, stroked her hand down his cheek and allowed it to drift down his shoulder and arm, until she took a firm grip on his hand. "Okay, so here's the deal, you have to be alive."

"Why?" asked Daniel standing behind her in the shadows.

"Because I refuse to live this without you, you're the reason I'm here, you're the reason I want to be here. You're the only one who ever realized who and what I was and gave me a chance in spite of it. You're the reason I'm not locked up in some cell somewhere, or on the run from the Alliance, or worse bowing down to the Ori before getting myself killed for lying. General Jack, and Teal'c and Sam have all had their say, but what they say doesn't matter, because they had their time, their chance to be with you in any way they could and you still ended up dead more times than I have, and as a Goa'uld you can be dead quite a few times and come back!" Her voice became softer then, "I know that when Quetesh was inside me I used to wish for death, I actually managed to kill or injure myself a few times, but never enough." She shook her head blinking back the tears.

"When Quetesh was gone, I still wished for death, I could hardly stand remembering all the things that had been done with my hands. I know it's not the same, but you must be feeling guilty about what you had to do to survive, what Merlin made you do to survive; I have no doubt that your choice would have been to die and stop Adria from gaining Merlin's weapon, and maybe you did, maybe you died many more times at the hands of my daughter, I don't know, but after everything I've learned through my travels, my adventures and from you, I know one thing: You're the most stubborn human being in the galaxy, perhaps the universe!" Tears streamed down her face now as she gripped his hand harder.

"You won't die, Daniel, I know you're tired and hurting deeply, maybe even soul deep, but I know you believe that there's worth here among the pain, you just have to be reminded that the good out-weighs the bad, and it does especially when we have you on our side." She smiled, sniffing away the tears and then pulled out a folder, "I err, I found this on the floor in your office, I wanted to read to you, and this seemed like a perfect thing." She showed the sleeping man the folder.

"'The Meaning of Life'" she read, "kind of ironic you think? This first bit's really boring a technical description of a translation of some alien treaty, anyway where it really gets good it in the back here, in the conclusions. 'While studying this language I made the assumption that the use of elements as symbols could be evidence of a universal language, a true meeting of equals no matter the species, and if everyone is speaking the same language there's a forum to discuss problems and issues, everyone has a say and everyone is understood. A free exchange of information allows for a deeper study of the nature of being, meaning of life stuff and all that, though obviously what I've been able to translate isn't along those lines, a universal language can still be used for that purpose.' Come on Daniel do you get this, who else would see a language as the key to finding the meaning of life? Who else would care? You're the strangest person I know! You care about people, and because you care about this stuff, you make other people care too. You don't even get it do you?" She almost laughed, but it was more of a sob.

"Get what?" Daniel asked frowning at the woman by his bed.

"You have an effect on people, you show them the world how it could be, how it should be and always better than it was before. You've done that for me, and I don't think I ever told you how much I appreciate it, how much I've grown to depend on you for your unswerving belief that things will turn out right in the end. I know you're confused, I know Merlin messed with your head, and Adria messed with your head, and we messed with your head; when we locked you up and almost had Woolsey kill you- well that can't have helped your faith in us as teammates and friends- and I know you understand, you are very good at seeing the other side of things Daniel, but I think with all that messing with your head, that maybe you resent us for not believing you, for not believing in you enough to take you on faith."

"Well that's nothing new." Daniel and Vala turned to see Jack stood at the foot of his bed.

"What's that?" asked Vala, narrowing her eyes at Jack, half expecting him to kick her out again.

"It's a lesson we should have learned much better by now," Jack sighed, "Daniel is always right."

"Well I know that, I haven't known him that long, but I know that," said Vala. "I know Daniel never says something unless he's sure he's right and if he isn't sure he tells you how right he thinks he is."

"Even when he's guessing he's usually pretty close."

"You act like I'm some savant or something," said Daniel frowning.

"So if you know that he's always right, why weren't you instantly believing him and making plans to shut down the Super-Gate?" asked Vala

"Because he might be Daniel and almost always right, but I'm Jack and I can't act on the intuition, albeit a good one, of one slightly flaky archaeologist, unless I have some kind of concrete evidence to back it up," Jack shrugged, "normally he gave me something to hang on to when I was making that leap, but sometimes he just needed me to trust him implicitly and even though I really, really want to and I know with almost complete certainty that if I do what he's asking me everything will be all right."

"But?" said Daniel and Vala, together.

"I can't make that leap on faith, I've never been able to not for him not for anyone."

"And everyone else follows you lead," said Vala.

"It's not like that," said Jack defensively.

"Oh, yes, you were the leader, you set the tone, and the tone you set has everyone doubting Daniel until the very last second!" cried Vala getting up. "You're the reason he ends up like this all the time, because he always has to go to the nth degree in order to be heard!"

"She's right you know," said Janet, stepping up on the other side of the bed. "He always knew, but he could never bring himself to believe."

"What I don't get is Sam," said Vala.

"Carter, what about her?"

"You always took her on faith, if she says it is possible then she can do it! But if it's out of her reach then it's not."

"Sam always had science to back her up, even if he couldn't understand it he knew there was a real reason what she said was right," Daniel sighed.

"I used to ask Carter for an explanation for the things she does, but then she'd give them to me," Jack shuddered, "in detail. I couldn't take it anymore, so I just started letting her just do it." he shrugged.

"You had faith that she knew what she was talking about?"

"Yes! No, oh damn-it! You know just a few hours ago I was telling Daniel how much I was glad you were here for him, and now I know why he's so completely irritated with you for most of the time."

"Why's that?" asked Vala indignant.

"Because you're too much like me!" he cried and stalked off leaving Vala and Daniel looking shocked.

* * *

I always thought that Vala was a female Jack and now I know that Jack agrees! I wonder what Daniel thinks...

Later, Cynic


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"I am not!" Vala huffed, affronted at being compared to Jack, especially by the man himself.

"You so are," said Daniel smiling, "I never saw it before," he turned to Janet, "it's the same spark I saw in Jack, albeit not tempered by the military or the death of his son, she's Jack unleashed and it's beautiful, no wonder no matter how much she irritated me I let her get closer, I was unconsciously allowing her Jack's place, or rather Jack's time, I always have a lot of time for Jack even when he's being his most infuriating, I let him in."

"Why?" asked Janet.

"Potential Janet!" Daniel cried, "The man had potential, even on that first mission as damaged as he was, I saw it in his face, in his eyes, passed the pain and heartache and rawness, I saw the spark of a great man."

"He is a great man Daniel."

"I know, I know, but he was hurting so badly he wanted to give it up, let it go."

"So what did you do?"

Daniel smirked. "I poked the bear."

"What?"

"I asked him why he was in such a hurry to give away something so precious and wondrous that everyone and everything around him was fighting like hell to hold on to for just a little bit longer." Daniel stopped blinked and scowled.

Janet beamed.

"You tricked me," he said still scowling.

"I did nothing of the sort," said Janet preening.

"I thought angels were supposed to be all pure and sweet."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not an angel isn't it, Honey?"

Daniel sighed and threw up his hands. "Okay, fine you've got me; life is a wondrous and beautiful gift that shouldn't be squandered or wasted." he rolled his eyes.

"and?" Janet prompted.

"and I should stop whining and look for the good things in my life instead of the horrible and intense and quite often painful consequences of my profession."

"Daniel!"

"What? You think just because I have an epiphany that all my issues just go away? It's not that easy Janet, and you know damn well it isn't!" Daniel threw up his hands in frustration just as two light bulbs exploded overhead and the EEG monitoring Daniel's body spiked off the charts.

"What the hell!" cried Jack, instantly going to cover Daniel with his body only to be cut off by Vala going to do the same thing.

Daniel stared at the scene.

"They care about you."

"I don't doubt it.," said Daniel. "It's the only time I've ever been sure about the people around me."

"Your friends love you more than you realize, Daniel," said Janet quietly as they stood by and watched.

"It's not about love," said Daniel, "it never was. I never doubted that they cared; I'd wager they care too much. For them more than it was for me, love was the easy part," Daniel sighed, "For them it was easier to love me than it was to trust me. For me, I knew implicitly that I could rely on any of them to do what's right, I trusted, but I couldn't leap to love, I've had too many people I love leave me and it took me a long time to let anyone even close after Sha're."

"You never let anyone get close to you," said Janet, "you never let them see that what they do affects you, that you do love them in spite of yourself."

* * *

I (heart) you guys! I loved all the comments you gave and my muse is just nibbling them up! Maybe if you're really good we'll see that elusive double post again someday!

Later, Cynic


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"It nearly killed me when you died," said Daniel, "I couldn't be there for them, for Cassie either. I felt guilty."

"Guilty?" asked Janet.

"I've had so many chances, and you never even got the option, it was just over. I just felt the heat of the blast and then you were dead. No second chances for Janet Frasier a beautiful and amazing person with people who love her and a daughter who needs her. Daniel Jackson? Orphan? Loner? Workaholic? Yeah, go on he'll still be working on his re-rolls when everyone he ever cared for is pushing up daisies." Daniel closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't want to die alone."

"So you want to die sooner so that you can cause all your friends and family the grief of your untimely death, just because you have this weird fear that you'll never die, or it won't be until you're all alone and no one cares about you?"

"Well when you put it like that…"

"Daniel the people we love and love us in return never leave us, why do you think I'm here, with you dumb-ass?" She thumped him on the arm.

"Ow!" he cried, "Can ghosts bruise?" he asked rubbing his arm.

"You're not a ghost, you're a spirit," she said.

"There's a difference?"

"That little blip on the screen is a big difference," said Janet gesturing to the heart monitor. "Daniel, I'm telling you right now, you need to get back in your body and live your life."

"What's so important that I have to continue my 'journey' right now?" he asked complete with air quotes. "Why can't I stay in a coma for a while and ease myself back to life?" Daniel was stood at the foot of his own bed while Jack cursed out an Airman for putting up defective light bulbs and Vala glared from the sidelines.

"I guess you'll just have to work that out for yourself," she said, "we just ran out of time." With that Janet laid her hands on Daniel's chest and shoved him, he instantly fell backwards on to the bed and on top of himself and back into his body.

* * *

Daniel's alive again! --Rubs hands together-- Let the whumping commence:D

Later, Cynic


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Jack and Vala had reached an impasse, when the lights started exploding they both found it equally satisfying to tag team the hapless airman in charge of maintenance in the infirmary that was, until Daniel gasped.

When Daniel gasped the EEG machine sparked and shorted out, the fresh bulbs that had just been replaced blew again along with a half a dozen others along the ward and all the rolling carts of equipment were suddenly sent careening away from Daniel's bed. Daniel was arching up off the mattress, his head forced back and legs pushing him up, his arms flailing in the air.

"Daniel!" cried Jack and Vala rushing to his side only to be thrown back from the bed.

Daniel's eyes were open but rolled into the back of his head as he continued to arch and writhe about, his face distorted with pain and anguish. He threw his arms up into the air and the entire room was plunged into darkness. It took a few minutes for the back-up generator to kick in and the emergency lights to come up.

Vala and Jack stood up from where they had been thrown looked over to Daniel's bed and the man now collapsed on top of it. He moaned and the two of them were instantly by his side.

Jack and Vala glared at each other for a moment as they both reached for their friend at the same time. Daniel groaned again and his eye fluttered open.

"Jack?" he moaned. Jack couldn't help shoot Vala a smug grin before sliding her out of his way and grabbing Daniel's hand.

"Daniel?" he called squeezing his hand. "Are you awake? Can you hear me?" Daniel blinked staring with glazed eyes at the two people by his bed.

"Jack?" he said, "Am I dead?"

"Not this time," said Jack.

"Damn," said Daniel and fell back to sleep.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jack looking back at Vala worriedly.

* * *

Okay, so I'm having a bit of second thoughts on the title of this fic, I mean Merlin lied is the basic premise but it's really getting away from that I think having written forty plus chapters passed that realization. I'm considering a new title, but I'm coming up blank, so if you guys have any suggestions I'd be open to hearing some.

Later, Cynic


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Some time later, when Daniel realized he couldn't go back to sleep and his body insisted he return fully to consciousness and deal with the many and varied people and objects currently circling his bed, Daniel opened his eyes.

"Would you guys keep it down, I'm trying to sleep here," he said squinting.

"Daniel!" That was Sam sounding all-happy and far too up beat.

Daniel tried to roll over and ignore them, he couldn't deal with chirpy right now, but a hand on his shoulder rolled him back.

"No you don't Daniel, we've been waiting and we all want to see those baby blues," said Jack, with a slight irritation in his tone.

"How long?" Daniel asked squinting wishing he had his glasses.

"Just over three days," said Sam, taking liberties with his hair and smiling down at him so hard, "You had us worried."

"I'm fine," said Daniel sitting up, "I could do with my…" his glasses were suddenly in his hand, "…glasses," he said frowning, "thanks," he put them on and could now clearly see all the worried faces surrounding him, "What about some…water, oh," he said as a cup of water found its way into his hand, "thanks," he said after sipping some and giving the water back. None of the worried faces around him moved. "What?" he asked.

"Daniel, do you remember what happened?" asked Jack, "In your office?"

"My office?" asked Daniel frowning, "I was working, I remember and I was getting so much done!" he laughed and then his gaze clouded, "I'm not sure, did I pass out?"

"Dr Jackson!" Dr Lam quickly dispersed the crowd around his bed. "How are you feeling?" she pulled out the requisite penlight, but as soon as she approached Daniel with it, it flew from her hand. "What the...Dr Jackson!"

"What?" Daniel cried, "I didn't even move!"

"Neither did we Daniel," Sam said, "But somehow you got your glasses and your water."

"I don't, I don't understand," Daniel shook his head confused.

"They came to you," said Jack, "because you thought about it."

"And the penlight flew out of my hand because everyone hates have a light in their eyes especially after they've just woken up," said Lam, "I'm sorry but I have to check your pupil reactions," she pulled out another penlight, but it promptly flew from her grip, "Daniel!"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to, I can clearly see you and I feel fine."

"Fine, right," said Jack, "For a guy who's been seizing and blowing up light-bulbs for the last few hours."

"Blowing up what?"

"Daniel your mind seems to have retained certain knowledge and abilities from when you were host to Merlin's consciousness and memories," said Lam.

"You said I was fine when I came back," said Daniel, "Merlin promised me the transformation was temporary, and that I'd revert back to my original state."

"Merlin lied, Daniel," said Vala pushing her way to his side, "he didn't put you back the way you were, there was no way he could."

"I don't understand, what's happened to me?" asked Daniel starting to panic a little.

"That's it!" cried Lam, "Everyone out! I need to examine my patient," Everyone froze for a moment before moving to comply, Jack lingered for a moment, "You too General,"

Jack held up his hands in surrender. "I'm going," he said, and then to Daniel, "We'll talk later," Daniel nodded still a little bewildered, "Welcome back," he grinned and then he was gone.

* * *

Okay, I've decided to stick with Merlin Lied, it works -Shrugs- Oh and for those who cringe in the face of a misplaced comma, I have a beta for this story now! Yea! I'm going to replace some of the earlier chapters with new improved versions, but don't worry it won't change the logic of the story to move a few commas and semi-colons around and with some help I'm hoping to get this sucker finished before New year's!

Later, Cynic


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Dr Lam wanted to do a complete physical, complete with extensive scans and cognitive tests, and she wanted to do them without interruption. Jack resented the glance she slid his way when she said this, it wasn't his fault that SG-1 in its entirety had taken turns hitting up the doctor for information every 15-20 minutes!

Okay, not entirely his fault.

Hank had ordered SG-1 to steer clear, and politely, but forcefully asked Jack not to bother the doctor while she determined Daniel's status. Jack already knew Daniel's status, he was 'fine'; goddamn the man, he was always fine. So Jack had a minimum of four hours to kill before he could justify bothering Lam again. He had to get out, go get some air that wasn't filtered through several miles of pipes.

8

On the top of the mountain, Jack unknowingly took up the same spot Daniel had taken a short time ago.

"You're losing him," said Janet coming to sit beside Jack.

"I know," sighed Jack without looking up, "I don't know how to reach him."

"You could try talking to him."

"He won't listen, he's so stubborn he won't let anyone help, he's always fine!"

"I didn't say lecture him, I said talk to him. You know converse as equals, he might be shocked initially but, I think this vastly innovative approach might work."

"Are ghosts supposed to be sarcastic?" Jack slid a sideways look at his friend.

"I'm not a ghost, I'm just a friend," said Janet.

"You know what freaks me out?" he asked.

"No," said Janet, "what?"

"That this, you being here, doesn't freak me out. I'm so warped on the weird shit that my life entails that my dead friend coming to see me barely even registers, and you know what? You're not the first!"

"Daniel," said Janet with a sly smile.

"Yeah," Jack sighed deflated, "Daniel," They sat quietly for a few minutes just absorbing the approaching dusk, the lights flickering on down below and listening to the crickets singing in the distance. "I can't talk to him," said Jack eventually.

"Why's that?"

"He grew up," said Jack, "It used to be he was smart passionate and brave, but also naïve and so damned trusting," Jack shook his head smiling slightly, "I got to be the hard-assed, soft-hearted protector, the one he trusted to save him from himself. I had authority and years of combat experience and a bigger gun to wave in his face to slow down his running head-long into danger, or adventure," Jack shrugged struggling to find the words, "We used to complement each other," he said lacing his fingers together to illustrate, "Where one fell short, the other filled in."

"So what changed?" asked Janet.

"He grew up," said Jack frowning at his hands, "and got tough and street smart, as well as book smart. He stopped instantly trusting people, and he started seeing where violence was the only, if not most desirable, option, he got comfortable with the big guns. We started colliding where we used to fit," Jack made two fists and hit them together, "He became a soldier and I couldn't stop treating like my kid brother," Jack shook his head, "I can't talk to him as an equal, he's so far beyond me I barely see him."

"You need to catch up and fast," said Janet, "This place is his life, he can't separate himself from it."

"I know that feeling," said Jack.

"We all do, but Daniel has had his whole life wrapped up in the gate for longer than any of us, his life is the Stargate."

Jack just nodded.

"Think about it, Jack, Daniel's met and lost his wife, lost and found a step-son, lost his grandfather, lost his innocence, lost his life, lost himself more than once. He fights for earth, he fights for humanity, he fights for knowledge that will benefit everything out there, but despite all he's lost he never ever fights for himself and if he doesn't start soon he might lose it all, and you might lose him for good."

* * *

I am so sorry for the huge lag time for this update, (bad cynic) RL snagged me and then my muse dragged me off on another adventure, I finished a story, it's just not this one! I am hoping to start updating faster as soon as I have an ending in mind, but rest assured I have lots to post in the interim.

Later, Cynic


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

"Jack, what do you get from the Stargate Project?" asked Janet, after a minute.

"What do you mean, like wages?"

"No, everyone gets paid, but there are extras honors. You've been promoted and you've received medals, honors, awards, and commendations. So has Sam. She also has the respect of the scientific community. While still years behind, she's still able to release her findings to the general public. She's the foremost expert in her field."

"So is Daniel," said Jack, "on the people transplanted through the gate, and the Ancients."

"And who can he tell that to?" asked Janet, "and if Daniel is the 'foremost expert on the Ancients, having made their study possible in the first place, having discovered the address of their fabled 'lost city,' why wasn't he asked to go on the expedition? Hell Jack, he was a natural choice to head the expedition!"

"I needed him here," said Jack, quietly.

"To do what? Play Laurel to your Hardy? Isn't that what you have Teal'c for?"

"Hey, now! That's not fair!"

"Maybe, but it's still true."

Jack sulked.

"You're losing him," said Janet again, "despite your best efforts to keep him here, you are going to lose him."

"I don't understand."

"Daniel's a fighter, but it took all I had to convince him that to give up on his life would be hypocrisy."

"Hypocrisy? He couldn't just live for his life?"

"What life is that? His life is the Stargate, the big 'ole drain down there that's sucked up all his remaining family members and keeps putting him through the spin cycle to see if he'll throw up or explode."

"That's a lovely image, Doc."

"You know what I mean; Daniel has to get a life, in the most visceral sense, or the next staff blast, energy beam, alien torture session, or stray bullet won't narrowly miss him, won't leave him fighting for his next breath, he'll just accept it and you'll lose him, for good."

"Are you telling me Daniel has a death wish?"

"I'm telling you Daniel has a life wish, but the best that life has to offer him at the moment is a swift end to the pain and torment. While there's still air in his lungs, a rhythm in his heart; he hurts, and he has nothing beyond that to hold on to, to rise above it."

"How do I help him?"

"Show him how important his life is, show him how much he matters in the lives of those around him, in your life. Teach him to live for his own sake and promise him that when the time comes he won't die alone."

"Not asking much are you?"

"No I'm asking for exactly what Daniel has given up, exactly what he has to get back in order to really live again. I'm asking for everything."

* * *

Next on Stargate SG-1... Daniel, sharp needles, lots of doctors and the NID! and later things get hot:D

Later, Cynic

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Daniel was little bit frustrated, his new 'powers' had landed him in an isolation room with a view. A view of him for everyone else, that is. Daniel scowled up at the observation window. Then he scowled down at the pencil in his hand, he'd been trying for an hour to get the thing to move on command, but the stubborn thing would not budge.

Needles and penlights on the other hand flew out of hands before Daniel even registered it had happened. The nurses were highly annoyed, and Daniel was helpless to stop it. His new powers it seemed operated on a purely subconscious level, and Daniel really hated needles.

The doctors observing him were not SGC, Daniel knew that much, the expressions on their faces weren't ones of concern and worry, but of excitement and pure calculating greed. They looked down on him as if he were an experiment showing promising results.

He certainly felt like an ameba on a microscope slide, or a specimen in a tank waiting to be dissected. Daniel shivered, he had to get out there, and he had to do it soon. Daniel knew those looks, he'd seen them before, many times when weird shit had happened to him, they wanted to slit him open and see what made him special why he'd survived this and not everyone else, why he'd thought of the way out when everyone else had died.

He'd seen it too after his ascension when they wanted to probe his mind for the information in his subconscious, that was the second time they'd made a play for his brain, the first after Shifu, and now there they were again scurrying around like ants in a mindless pursuit of knowledge, and if all they wanted to do was ask him questions he'd be happy to but, Daniel knew they wanted more, they wanted to bore a hole in his head and remove some brain tissue, they wanted to inject a radioactive isotope into his head and map the synapses.

He wasn't sure how he knew this, it wasn't as he could hear them talking up there -and god-forbid any of them actually came down to talk to him, or ask his permission!- But he knew, without doubt that's what they were all doing up there, talking about him, discussing his future, and his 'condition.'

The only people that came to see him since he'd been moved were nurses and even those were rare. He'd been sedated initially, but the drugs were wearing off and his strength was returning slowly. He had to get out of there, before they came in force, before they stopped with the 'isn't it fascinating let's study it' and moved on to the inevitable 'is it dangerous? Let's kill it just in case' discussion. Daniel didn't want to think about what they'd do to him before they arrived at that conclusion, but he wasn't eager to find out.

Without really knowing how he could or how he knew that it would work, Daniel reached out with his mind and called out for help, hoping that it was answered before he suffered a fate worse than death.

* * *

More soon!

Cynic

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Jack startled himself out a daze, he'd been sitting in the briefing room for a while just staring at the gate. He'd jumped because he distinctly heard someone calling his name, but the room was still oppressively empty. Lam had given her report on Daniel's condition and left ages ago, presumably to do more tests. There was nothing new to report, Daniel was, in fact, fine, physically, he was exhausted, anemic, dehydrated and a bunch of other things that Jack could have figured out for himself just knowing that Daniel had been left alone for the last three weeks.

As far as his brain went, all Lam could say was his cognitive function was normal, for Daniel. He was coherent, lucid, and able to remember everything up to the point of his collapse, he was normal, fine, except that he wasn't. Daniel was telekinetic, things flew across the room when he thought about it, not consciously though it seemed, according to Lam that Daniel reacted unconsciously with his power, he didn't want a shot so the needle wouldn't get near him etc, etc. Lam had moved him to a new room, away from the flying instruments, so he could have privacy, while she consulted with some other doctors. Jack wasn't sure what she needed to consult on, if Daniel was physically fine they should let him go.

"Jack!" Jack spun around at the call, but there was no one there. "Jack, help me!" He knew that voice.

"Daniel?" A pale reflection of Daniel appeared in the glass of the briefing room window.

"They're coming for me Jack and I don't want to go. Help me!" he cried. The reflection vanished and Jack raced from the room.

* * *

Told ya!:-D

Later, Cynic


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Jack found three SF's trying to pry open the blast door to Daniel's ISO room.

"What's going on?" asked Jack.

"Order's sir," said one SF, "Some thing's jammed the door and the doctors want to get in."

Jack nodded and strode over to the next door, the access to the observation deck and into a mass of white coats, talking and twittering while pointing down at the room below.

"What's going on?" asked Jack.

"Nothing to worry about General, I'm sure they'll fix the door soon." said one bespectacled man with a high pitched nasal voice.

"Who are you?" asked another of the scientists looking Jack up and down with disdain. 

"I'm General Jack O'Neill," said Jack, "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm Dr. Jeffery Richards." he said, clearly surprised he wasn't recognized instantly, and that Jack wasn't bowing at his feet the moment he was informed of his identity.

There were at least five other lab coats in the room, but Jack wasn't in the mood for pleasantries, he ignored Dr Richards, and went to the nearest wall phone.

"General Landry, and Dr Lam to ISO room 2 please, General Landry and Dr Lam to ISO room 2."

Jack looked down at the room below, and shivered. Daniel was sat up in bed, his hands spread flat on the roll-away table positioned across his lap, and he was staring straight ahead without blinking. "How long has he been like that?" Jack gestured to Daniel below.

Several of the lab coats looked surprised at the question and looked to where Jack was gesturing.

"I thought he was sedated," said one, with a shrug as if it didn't really matter.

"I wasn't aware he was conscious," said another.

"About an hour," said a small voice from the far end of the room. Jack looked over at a small woman standing near the window. "He was staring at a pencil for a while," she said, "but he kept getting agitated whenever anyone came in. About an hour ago, he put his hands there on the table and closed his eyes. He opened them as you came in," she said to Jack.

"And you are?" asked Jack.

"Dr Jayne Mayfield," she said walking up to him, "It's a pleasure to meet you General, your reputation proceeds you. As does Dr Jackson's," she gestured to the window, "perhaps when they figure out what's wrong with the door you'll introduce me."

Jack nodded but couldn't respond as Hank and Dr Lam came into the room.

"Jack what's going on?" asked Hank.

"That's exactly what I was going to ask you, who the hell are all these people, and why are they up here gawking at Daniel? I thought you said he was supposed to be resting?"

"He is..." Lam started to respond, but Jack cut her off.

"When was the last time you could sleep with an audience this size?" he asked, not a little bit irked by the situation. "And don't say you've been sedating him, because, while I question the logic of sedating a man who has just revived from a vegetative state, no one can get near him with a needle at this point without it getting flung back in their faces! I want an explanation because I'm seriously reconsidering appointing you to this position."

"Come on now Jack!" Hank protested

"No, don't," said Lam, stepping forward and stopping Hank from defending her, "first of all, you approved my consultation list, and second of all…"

"I did not approve them looking at Daniel like he's in a specimen jar!"

"Noted," Lam conceded, "second of all, I didn't order any medications given to Dr Jackson, and I don't appreciate the insinuations on my qualifications," she turned to the group of lab coats. "Who ordered Dr Jackson sedated?" she asked.

"I did," said Dr Richards. "I believed that the subject was too volatile and would need to be relaxed prior to examination."

"His name is Dr Daniel Jackson," Jack barked, "he is the highest ranking civilian in this base and holds the respect and admiration of every single person who serves here. You'd do well to remember that." Jack advanced, but was stopped by Hank, Richards backed off instantly.

"I am the primary physician," said Lam, "I administer drugs, and treatments that I approve, not you. You are here because the consult I requested is in India this week and couldn't be here until next Tuesday. You could have done irreparable damage to him! We have no idea what effect those drugs could have on a person with his brain chemistry!" Lam took a deep calming breath. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the General is right; Dr Jackson's privacy has become an issue, why don't we reconvene in the conference room on level fourteen."

"I was given certain assurances that I would be able to examine the subject myself, it's the only reason I agreed to sign the non-disclosure agreement." said Richards.

"He wants to drill a hole in my head and have a look," said Daniel, suddenly standing right beside Jack. Jack barely twitched, he glanced down at the ISO room and noted Daniel was still sat up in bed, and then he watched Daniel wave his hand in front of Richards' face, while he whined about what he'd been promised. "He's NID, Jack." said Daniel seriously, "his assurances were he could do whatever he wanted to me to get results, anything up to and including taking a melon-scoop to my gray-matter."

"You want to drill a hole in his head?" said Jack incredulously.

Richards looked over a Jack surprised. "Well, a small bore hole would be necessary to take the scans I need for my research."

"Research? Daniel's not a lab rat, he's a human being."

Richards snorted derisively, "Hardly," he said, "I've read his file, I'm not sure he qualifies as human anymore."

Jack had a sudden notion that this man might be a goa'uld, but then Daniel stuck his head through Richards' neck and shook his head. "No snake, inside anyway," he said.

"If Daniel spontaneously transmogrified into a bunny rabbit, he'd still be more human than you've ever been." Jack watched in satisfaction as Richards went red and inarticulate with rage. Lam held him back with a hand on his chest.

"I did not approve any such tests, regardless of what assurances have been made to you!" she cried, "You are here on my sufferance, to consult on methods to help Dr Jackson gain control over his new abilities, not to cut him up for tests."

"I think you all should leave now," said Jack almost calmly.

"You have no say in this!" Richards glared at him.

"Oh contra' Dr. Dick, I am Daniel's next of kin and therefore my say is the only one that counts. So why don't you just go crawl back under whatever microscope slide you spawned from and we'll get back to work." Jack did a dismissing gesture and turned his back on Richards. Hank had retrieved the SF's from the door and had them almost forcibly remove Dr Richards from the room, the other lab coats followed at a statelier pace. Dr Mayfield hesitated at Jack's side before joining the group bottlenecked at the exit, unaware that she was under scrutiny from an astral archaeologist. Daniel leaned down to look the small woman in the face.

"You should keep this one Jack," he said straightening up, "She has some good ideas on how a person could live with my abilities."

Jack didn't even move from where he stood observing the room below. "Dr Mayfield," he said, just as she was about to step out the room, "why don't you stay and discuss your ideas with Dr Lam and myself." Though phrased as a question, Jack's tone indicated it was a statement. Mayfield stepped back into the room.

"You can open the door now," said Daniel and disappeared.

* * *

Life is short, but I'm trying to write longer chapters:D 

Later Cynic


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

Jack sighed as Dr Lam came back inside after seeing off all the lab coats. "Next time you want to consult with someone about Daniel I'm asking for a full background check and a preview interview."

"I had no way of knowing he'd be such an asshole," Lam defended herself.

"Jeff's always been a bit of hot-head," said Mayfield, "it's easy to do when everyone in your life is telling you you're god's gift to genetic science."

"I know the type," said Jack, "and I don't want any of them in the mountain let alone, leave Daniel in their care."

"I see you approve of one of my choices. Dr Mayfield," Lam nodded to her.

"Well, Daniel likes her, so I'm giving her a shot," said Jack with a shrug.

"What do you mean; Daniel likes her?" asked Lam confused.

"You'll see," Jack grinned and walked out of the observation room. The two women baffled, followed him out.

Outside, Jack approached the blast doors and drew out his security card.

"Your airmen have been trying for over an hour to pry that door open," said Mayfield.

"They weren't invited," said Jack and slid the card, the lock pinged and the door opened.

"It's about time!" cried Daniel, "I thought you'd stay up there forever!"

"Then your telepathy needs a little work then doesn't it?" said Jack grinning.

"Excuse me?" said Lam while at the same time, Mayfield said, "Telepathy?"

"It's seems that Daniel has a whole bunch of tricks that we hadn't even considered," said Jack.

"It's not really telepathy, it's like I just know things that are going on in your head, sometimes it's just a vague impression, but if you're thinking about something a lot or really concentrating on it, I can see it."

"See it?" asked Lam.

"Thoughts aren't really words, they're images and sounds and perceptions, I can't explain it that well. I just know," he said with a shrug.

"And the thing in the briefing room?" asked Jack.

"That Richards guy was thinking really hard about tying me down and drilling a hole in my head, I mean really hard," said Daniel with a shudder, "I panicked and I called out for help."

"I don't understand, you haven't left the room or spoken since my colleagues and I got here," said Mayfield.

"My body never left the room, but I seem to have the ability to leave that behind, I appeared to Jack in the briefing room, and again in the observation room."

"What do you mean appeared?"

"He means he screamed at me to help him, and then proceeded to further scare the crap out of me by being in two places at once," said Jack.

"You handled it very well," said Daniel commented wryly.

"Ten years of dealing with all the weird shit that's come through that gate; nothing fazes me anymore, not even you."

"Astral projection," said Mayfield quietly.

"What?" Lam said.

"The ability to project ones consciousness outside of the body," said Daniel and Mayfield together.

"Sorry," said Daniel sheepishly.

"I have a feeling that, that is going to get somewhat irritating," said Jack.

"Tell me about it," Daniel groaned.

Jack just looked at him.

"Hey, I don't want to step on anyone's toes, anymore than you do," said Daniel and smacked Jack on the arm, "That was not nice!" he said.

"Ow!" cried Jack, "What was that for?"

"You know," Daniel glared at him.

"Oh, so now I have to be responsible for every stray thought that goes through my head?" cried Jack, "I can barely control what comes out of my mouth most days!"

"Think happy thoughts Jack," said Daniel meanly, "I have to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means my telekinesis is controlled by strong sub-conscious impulses. I have a dark side Jack, and I don't want anyone have any accidents around me."

"I'm not sure I understand," said Lam

"Well, if Jack had this ability I'd probably have been shoved through a wall by now."

Jack winced, "I'm never going to live that down am I?"

"Actually, I didn't remember, myself, until not long ago."

"That's what you get for letting so many aliens futz with you cranium."

Daniel eyebrows shot up, "Jack, pot and kettle?"

"Okay," Jack conceded, "but you've still died more than I have."

"Yeah, well I had a head start."

"Gentlemen," said Dr Lam, she and Dr Mayfield were clearly confused by the banter.

Daniel just smiled and said, "The true worth of a man is measured in the battle between his conscious mind and his sub-conscious desires," which did nothing to clear things up for the two women, "We're about to find out just how good of a person I am."

"We're in luck then," said Jack, "because you're the best person I know."

Daniel blinked in surprise at the unexpected complement; he was spared having to respond, when the phone rang. Lam answered it, said a few words and hung up.

"SG-1 is on their way," she said.

* * *

That's all for now folks! Don't forget to tip you waitress, and send your complements to the chef if you enjoyed your meal.

Cynic


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sam led the way into the room with Mitchell and Vala coming next and Teal'c bringing up the rear.

"What's going on?" asked Sam, "Someone told me the NID had come to take Daniel away for testing!"

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen," said Jack. "We were just discussing Telekinesis and Astral projection, in context with reaction to Daniel's subconscious desires."

The room was deathly silent.

"What?" Jack said.

"I think they're a little shocked," said Daniel.

"Why?"

"You said something that was not only articulate and intelligent, but also astute and without stopping to pretend you couldn't remember the correct phrase," said Daniel.

"Oh, yeah, well," Jack shrugged unabashed.

"There you go, much better," said Daniel.

"Daniel, how are you feeling?" asked Vala, who had miraculously appropriated a spot beside his bed and had a hand on his forehead. Daniel shook it off half-heartedly.

"I'm fine," said Daniel.

"Sure, you are," said Mitchell, "except for all the super-funky mind powers going off in your head."

"Actually, it's the going off outside my head that worries me."

"Daniel, we all know your mind is a scary place to be sometimes, but no one is worried that you can't get control of these powers," said Vala.

"I concur," said Teal'c, "Daniel Jackson you are a man of great integrity and strength of will, you can control these powers."

"Thanks guys, I guess I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, listening to all of those lab-coats expound on their ideas to experiment on me did nothing to calm my nerves."

"They were in here, talking about that?" cried Sam.

"Up there, looking down," said Daniel.

Sam frowned in confusion.

"Telepathy," said Jack.

Sam's face cleared and then she frowned again.

"Oh, no Sam!" cried Daniel, "I don't hear thoughts; I just get impressions, images." He glanced at Vala and blushed, "That was uncalled for," he said.

Vala grinned.

"That's exactly why I need to get control of this," said Daniel with a glare at Vala, "And those nurses weren't exactly saints either," Daniel shuddered.

Jack grinned. "You always were on the list with the nurses."

"I was never on a list for that!" said Daniel, "or that!" he pointed to Vala again. "I want a twenty foot radius if you can't keep your thoughts out of the gutter."

Vala pouted, "Sorry, I just wanted to see how much you were getting."

"I'm getting plenty from everyone else; I don't need double from you!"

"Okay, that's enough!" said Lam, "My patient needs to rest."

"I'm fine!" Daniel cried.

"You're exhausted, and you need some real sleep," said Lam, "Everybody out!"

"Talk to you in the morning." said Jack.

"Okay, I guess a little nap wouldn't be so bad," Daniel sighed, "Teal'c those Kel'noreem exercises look really interesting, Sam the answer is PI, Mitchell it's not the end of the world!"

"Damn and I thought he was hard to live with before." Jack muttered as they all left the room.

"I heard that Jack!"

* * *

I found the end! Just when I wasn't looking for it, this monster plot bunny leaped from the bushed outside my work and jumped on my head! After I recovered from the concussion I wrote twenty more pages to the story in progress! You guys will have to wait a while to get it, but I wanted to reassure that there will be an ending forthcoming, but I'm looking at...well quite a few more chapters before the perfect resolution is realized. Don't worry I have planned for Daniel to be in pain for a reasonable portion of that time: D

Later, Cynic


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Daniel worked hard over the next few weeks; he did kel'noreem meditation with Teal'c, as well as training in Lok'nel, a Jaffa martial arts, that focused on controlling movements and emotions. Dr Mayfield suggested some similar techniques, but had to return to her job in California so as not to draw attention.

Jack found Daniel sat on the floor of the gym meditating surrounded by several dozen tennis balls.

"Hey, Daniel!"

Daniel didn't move.

"Daniel?" Jack waved a hand in front of his face. One of the tennis balls rose up and bopped Jack in the head. "Ow!"

"What number?" Daniel asked.

"What?" Jack asked, still rubbing his head.

"On the ball, what number?"

Jack picked up the ball that had struck him. "Five," he said.

Daniel smiled, "Perfect, that's the one I wanted."

Jack looked at all the balls spread out on the floor, "Are you saying that out of all these balls you were able to focus on one in particular and make it thwack me on the head?"

"Pretty much."

"Sweet!" said Jack, "So you've got this whole thing licked?"

"I can do it when I can focus, but I haven't done it under fire yet, and if I do it a lot…" Daniel trailed off.

"If you do it a lot?" prompted Jack.

"I get a headache," said Daniel, "I'm fine, and I've got Lam running tests every other day, so don't even ask."

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Jack held up his hands.

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "I'm telepathic Jack."

"I can't stop myself from thinking it! So you'll just have to block me out or live with it."

"I can't block it out completely; I still get whatever is aimed directly at me, and the occasionally stray image. What is it with you and Mary Steenburgen anyway?"

"I have no response for that," as he turned to leave twenty tennis balls hit him in the head. "Ow!"

* * *

Hank looked over at the files in front of him, Dr Daniel Jackson was amazing, a singular person. The things he'd done, the things he'd seen! He was some kind of… no there was nothing to compare him to nothing that came close to describing him and Hank was terrified.

How could you ever think of commanding someone like that? He'd asked the question a lot when he'd come to command the SGC and he couldn't begin to describe the relief he felt when the problem was taken out of his hands, Jackson would go to Atlantis, and be Weir's problem.

Then came Vala, and those damn bracelets, and all Hank could do was hope Mitchell's exuberance would force Jackson into more definable role, and it did, sort of. Hank remembered discussing his problem with Jack, 'how to command Daniel' was a chapter in the SG-1 handbook that had suspiciously been, ripped out, and Jack wasn't talking. 'Trust yourself, and figure it out,' he'd said.

Weir hadn't been any help she'd had as much relief, over not having to deal with Jackson as Hank had. She'd recounted to him, how Jackson had taken her under his wing and shown her the ways and wherefores of the Stargate, without undermining her authority at all, the consummate diplomat, she'd often wondered why Jackson hadn't been picked for her job, both of them, he was more than qualified, hell he was the reason her current position existed! Jackson was the expert on the Ancients, the Stargate and Alien cultures, there was no one else on the list. He was a Hero, and a genius, and a legend, and no one knew what to do with him. Now, Hank shook his head, he had super powers, what were they supposed to do with him now?

* * *

I love the smell of angst in the evening : D 

Later, Cynic


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

"No."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Jack, that is not a reason," Daniel glared at him across the office.

"Because we don't know the extent or full effects of your abilities yet."

"Lam's given me a clean bill of health, I have control, I passed all her tests, and I even passed a psych exam! You are the only one who is questioning me!"

"I'm not questioning you Daniel."

"Then what is it?"

"It's too soon."

"It's been three months!"

"During which time, you have barely left the mountain, when was the last time you had a vacation and decompressed from this place? Three months is not long enough to get over what you have been through Daniel!"

"Well you are the only one that doubts me, and isn't that a shock!"

"I don't doubt you Daniel; I just trust that your simple mission will blow up in your face, just like so many other 'simple' missions we've been on!"

"I appreciate your concern, Jack but I have to do this I have to prove to myself that I can still do this, and not, be afraid," said Daniel quietly

"You're afraid?" asked Jack surprised.

"Of course I am!" Daniel cried, "Jack, the last time I went through that gate I was Prior! The longer I wait the worse it will be when I finally go back."

Jack sighed, "If I let you go blow up a train of alien corn will you promise you'll go on a vacation?"

"If:-" Daniel started.

"-At!" said Jack, holding up his finger, "Assume you have leave coming, for the whole team."

"I promise I will take a vacation," said Daniel smiling.

"Fine, go, blow up some corn!" said Jack making shooing motions.

"Sam's still finalizing the transport, but we should be going in a couple of hours," Daniel grinned.

"Don't make me regret this Daniel," Jack warned.

Mitchell waited for the rings matter stream to dissipate and then stood carefully surveying the ship. Intel suggested this was a load of Kassa, the highly addictive corn produced by the Lucian Alliance.

"I'm in," he whispered into his radio. Mitchell looked around at the cases in the cargo hold, he pried open one of the boxes and sliced into the bag. "Intel looks good," he said, "We got ourselves a space train full of evil Orville Redenbacher."

"Roger that," Sam's voice came back over the radio.

Sam, Teal'c and Daniel ringed over to the other three ships in the chain and began to place explosives, Daniel was just placing his when his radio came on; it was Sam.

"Their scanning us," she said, as a beam crossed the room where Daniel was standing.

"Let's make this quick!" Mitchell's voice echoed in the chamber, and Daniel marveled at the man's perfect grasp of the obvious. He went about setting his timer, but something in the back of his mind kept bothering him.

"I'm done," said Sam.

"As am," said Teal'c.

Daniel set his timer for one minute and was about to step into the rings when they activated.

"Ah, crap," he said as he dived behind some crates. Five men materialized and opened fire. Daniel returned fire and managed to take out two, but the others fired again before he could take them out.

Sam's voice crackled over the weapons fire. "Daniel, everyone else is one board, time to go."

Daniel rolled away from the line of fire and sent a few shots back, as he glanced at the timer, 30 seconds left. "Love to," he said, "but I have some company in here."

"I will render assistance," Teal'c's voice boomed over the radio.

"Negative!" cried Daniel, "There's not enough time."

"Daniel, if you can get to the platform, we can ring you out from here," said Sam.

Daniel took a deep breath a fired over the crates, until his gun jammed.

"Damn-it!" Daniel cried, as he tried to force the weapon, 10 seconds on the clock, he took another breath, raised his hand and pushed. The remaining soldiers were shoved back and Daniel had enough to time to slide into the ring platform, screaming, "Now! Now!" into his radio as he went, Daniel was dimly aware of arriving on the cargo ship in the fetal position. He looked up at Sam and all he could say was, "Thanks."

* * *

Tune next time, same SG channel, same SG writer! For more fun and peril with our favorite archeologist and the rest of the gang!

later Cynic


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

"So,"

Daniel glanced up from his report, "Jack," he said.

"So," said Jack, again, "you got shot at." He stepped into the room, hands deep in his pockets.

"Yes, I got shot at, these things happen when you're blowing up someone's cargo pods. Why are you here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be off doing General stuff?" Daniel flicked his hands out as if to say, just because he couldn't think of any 'general stuff' to do didn't mean there wasn't any.

"I'm on leave," said Jack defensively.

"And you came here? Wait a minute aren't you the one that's always ordering me to get a life?"

"Actually, I ordered Carter to get a life, multiple times, but still she's winging her way to that science-fair in DC with Dr Lee."

"Yeah, Bill was really excited about it, they don't get to present the full extent of their findings but, still it's nice to mix with like minded people outside the mountain once in a while."

"Is that your oh, so subtle way to reminding me that because your work requires physical proof of findings that you can't even present any part of what you've discovered without comprising the secrecy of the program?"

"Nope," said Daniel, "but that's a good point though."

"I talked to Landry, Teal'c has gone off-world visiting, and Mitchell is taking Vala, why I don't know, to his high school reunion. That just leaves you and a certain promise."

"I'm on a plane to Oxford in," Daniel checked his watch, "six hours."

" Oxford?" asked Jack surprised.

"A friend of mine promised me a tour of a few sites I've had my eye on."

"Didn't you just spend a month in England doing King Arthur research?"

"That was work, this is fun."

"I'm sorry. I'm not seeing a difference."

"Well, work is something that you have to do, like researching ancient myths in the hopes of finding veiled references to super powerful alien weaponry. Fun is something that you do for pleasure, like touring the English countryside with a friend and researching local myths and legends, getting drunk and making general fools of ourselves."

"Oh, well, when you put it like that," said Jack, "Have fun, and don't get too drunk." Jack headed for the door.

"Yes, mother."

"I heard that!"

* * *

Daniel left his friend Jake sleeping off his night before at the hotel. It had been fun, catching up, reminiscing about their days as Oxford youths, but Daniel found he couldn't quite connect with that past anymore, like it was a dream he'd had a long time ago, a pleasant dream, but faded with the layers of nightmares that had replaced it. He left the near-comatose Scottish Archaeologist snoring and went to pursue one of his side projects for the morning.

The university special collections building was peaceful and cool, and filled with that unmistakable odour of aged ink and paper, a haven from the world and a perfect place for Daniel to relax and have fun doing a little research. Daniel sat down at a table with a sigh of contentment. A couple of hours later, Daniel glanced at his watch and decided he should call Jake and rouse him from his stupor.

He hung up his cell phone, having extracted a promise from his friend that they would meet for a proper English breakfast, around two. He decided to take one more pass at the collection.

Daniel pulled a reference from the shelf, and revealed a young woman on the other side of the stacks.

"Doing some research?" she asked.

"Yes," said Daniel, "Hi," he said looking up smiling at her, but then he frowned. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"I don't think so," she said.

"I'm looking for any Aramaic translations of pre-Judeo Pagan hymns, hopefully in lithograph form. Am I in the right section?" The woman just blinked at him smiling, "You don't work here do you?" The woman shook her head.

"Perhaps we could look together?" she smiled at him.

"No it's okay, I'll ask at the enquiry desk, they probably have it locked up," Daniel turned to go, but turned back unable to shake the strange feeling he had. "Are you sure we haven't met before?"

"I can assure you Dr Jackson, we've never met," she put her hand on the shelf between them, and Daniel saw her ring. He took a step back. "I'm Venta," she smiled.

"Tell me," he said, "if we've never met, how is it you know my name?"

Venta smiled, in spite of her slip, "Where I'm from you are a very famous man."

Daniel licked his lips and flicked a glance at the exits, calculating angles, trajectories and casualties as a security guard walked by and two new students entered the room. "Then you must be from out of town," he said, "I'm nobody here."

"Oh, I'm from way out of town," said Venta waving her hand upward with a smile.

"Why don't we take this outside?"

"You read my mind, after you, Dr Jackson," Daniel nudged the shelf with his mind sending it tumbling over the woman and ran out of the building into the street, but Venta was one-step ahead, literally, as she materialised in front of him.

"How did you do that?" she asked aiming the ring weapon first at him and then at a boy passing behind.

"Like this," said Daniel holding out his hand for the weapon to fly into, "interesting," he said, "This is not a design I've seen before, a custom job?" he asked.

"How?" cried the woman, before she began to furiously hit buttons on her gauntlet, and vanished. She reappeared behind him with a knife at his throat. "Move and I will cut your throat," she hissed into his ear, Daniel swallowed painfully and they disappeared.

* * *

Cue evil maniacal laughter! HeeeHeeHaaa! I know I'm mean, but I haven't had nearly enough opportunities for a cliff hanger in the story and really really like them!

Later Cynic


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Daniel and Venta rematerialized in a cargo ship in orbit. "Now let's get you into something a little more secure," said Venta keeping her grip on Daniel's shoulder.

The knife moved back slightly, and Daniel reacted, he leaned forward dragging Venta over his shoulder to the ground, the knife slipped nicking a line along his throat. Venta cried out, as she hit the floor.

"Now you said something about more secure," said Daniel glancing around, he spotted a bag of restraints, a set of cuffs flew towards him and he quickly bound the cursing woman on the floor.

"What are you?" she cried as Daniel searched her for weapons and tools.

"I'm an archaeologist," said Daniel, "What are you?" Daniel 'called' for another pair of shackles and chained her ankles.

"I'm a bounty hunter," said Venta struggling at the restraints.

"Ah," said Daniel, grinning at his handiwork, "and what am I? Bait, for the rest of the team?"

"I don't work like that," said Venta actually insulted, "I don't have the supplies for all four and yours was the biggest bounty," she paused.

"Go on," Daniel touched the cut on his throat and found it had already stopped bleeding.

"For what was meant to be a little effort," she muttered. Daniel smiled and grabbed Venta by her ankles and dragged her into a recessed corner.

"Underestimate the archaeologist," Daniel chuckled as he checked the restraints and leaned the woman into the corner sitting up. "Don't worry, I get that a lot." he patted her on the head and she growled at him. Daniel stood up and turned to the cockpit, "Now let's call home."

Daniel sent a hailing frequency down to the SCC and searched through Venta's computer system to pass the time. "So the Lucian Alliance reactivated the old bounties on us, and added one for Mitchell, a.k.a. 'Mister Shaft'," Daniel laughed reflexively shoving Venta back to the floor as she struggled to get up, "I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

"Unidentified Vessel this Stargate Command, come in." The radio burst into life, as Daniel was doing a quick sensor sweep.

"Stargate Command, this Daniel Jackson aboard the cloaked ship."

Landry's voice came on the receiver then, "Dr Jackson?"

"Yeah, sir, sorry to call unannounced, I had an unexpected visitor."

"I thought you were in England."

"I was, but then I met a nice young woman, who tried to take me hostage."

"Excuse me?"

"A bounty hunter, named Venta sir, I managed to subdue her, but not before I was beamed on board her ship."

* * *

General Hank Landry sat back in his office and sighed, he was finally finished with his review of Dr Jackson's work, and it was amazing to behold, the archaeo-lingustic works were innovative by themselves, but the other projects took the cake, Siler had already begun redesigning the control room to accommodate the new dialing program Jackson had designed, they had to over haul the gate connections as well, the advanced applied physics and weapons testing department were salivating over the energy weapon described in Jackson's single foray into that field, the only thing that made Landry sure that it was Jackson's work and not some alien intelligence was the fact that the weapon while impressive on paper only worked on inorganic tissue, it would make a good device for the demolition industry and little else. Landry smiled the crowning project was Jackson's study on why most of the aliens they'd encountered spoke English, his theories on the resonance frequencies of the gate crystals would keep the scientists at area 51 scratching their heads for years to come. Hank started when Walter ducked his head in. 

"Sir, we're getting a transmission."

"A transmission? I didn't hear the gate engage." Hank stood up from his desk and walked to the door.

"No, sir, it's coming from orbit," said Walter as they walked down to the control room. "NORAD hasn't alerted us to anything, they must be cloaked."

"What's the message say?"

"It's an automatic hailing frequency; we think they're waiting for us to respond." Walter took a chair at the control desk.

"By all means respond," said Hank.

"Unidentified Vessel this is Stargate Command come in."

"Stargate Command, this Daniel Jackson aboard the cloaked ship." Hank started when Jackson's voice came over the speakers.

"Dr Jackson?" Hank leaned over to speak into the mike.

"Yeah, sir, sorry to call unannounced, I had an unexpected visitor."

"I thought you were in England."

"I was but then I met a nice young woman, who tried to take me hostage."

"Excuse me?"

"A bounty hunter, named Venta sir, I managed to subdue her, but not before I was beamed on board her ship."

Hank shook his head in disbelief, how did Jackson get himself into these things. "Can you beam back down again?" he asked.

"As soon as I find that system," said Daniel sounding a little harassed.

"Are you okay Doctor?"

"What? Oh, no I'm fine, I'm using my abilities to stop her from escaping, it's a little distracting, you should call Teal'c, Sam and Mitchell, Venta has a bounty marker from the Lucian Alliance and trust me, this coin is more than a day's rations, I'm going to…" there was a break, and then, "ah crap!"

"Did you really think I wouldn't be able to get out of my own restraints?" The woman's voice was chillingly cold.

"Dr Jackson! Dr Jackson, respond!"

"Dr Jackson is busy right now," she said into the mike, "in fact I don't foresee him being free anytime soon."

"Dr Jackson!" called Landry.

"Sir, the transmission has been cut," said Walter quietly.

* * *

I hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving had a great day and didn't get drunk and pass out in the front yard like some people I could mention! You know who you are ...B-)

More of Daniel's fate later,

Cynic


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"He was on vacation!" Jack bellowed, "He was supposed to go get drunk and moon the countryside with his friend! He was supposed to not have to worry about aliens or super weapons or bounty hunters!"

"We couldn't have predicted this Jack!" cried Hank.

"You should have predicted something!"

"O'Neill," The two men looked up at Teal'c entered a sling around his shoulder.

"T! How's the wound?" asked Jack.

"Minor," said Teal'c, "Have Colonels Carter and Mitchell been contacted."

"We've left messages for both, if we don't hear back within the hour we have teams standing by to extract," said Hank.

Jack looked slightly mollified.

"What of Daniel Jackson?"

"In his last transmission he said he was aboard a cloaked ship, NORAD did some fine tuning and found several energy signatures that might have been ships, one of which was terminated shortly after it was detected this morning."

"Terminated?" asked Jack.

"They said there was a large energy output and then the signal vanished."

"Someone destroyed the ship!" said Jack, "So, not only do we have bounty hunters, plural parking in orbit, the bounty is so good they're fighting each other for it!"

"Dr Jackson said something about the amount being quite a bit more than a day's rations."

"Yeah," Jack laughed bitterly, "well, Daniel doesn't have a clue what he's actually worth, and if anyone finds out what he can do now? I tell you he's probably worth ten times that train load of Kassa you guys blew up."

* * *

Daniel opened his eyes painfully, he saw Venta at the controls of the ship, but her image was distorted- a force field- his fuzzy mind supplied, his hands and legs wouldn't move- shackles- the mind told him moving faster this time as the effects of the- stun weapon- the mind put in, wore off. While his mind moved faster, Daniel knew that he wasn't going anywhere unless he could untie himself and retake the ship. There was something, he thought he could do, but he hadn't tried it since first waking up in the isolation room. 

Jack had made him promise; 'My soul will not leave my body, while I am still alive or able to be resuscitated.' Truth be told, the whole experience had really shaken Daniel, and he had the sneaking suspicion that his sub-conscious had been doing some walking while he was asleep/in a coma. He didn't want to risk not being able to get back in once he was out, but on balance against being trussed up headed for god knows where with no GDO no way to call home, and no way out, except that. Daniel closed his eyes took a deep breath.

* * *

Mitchell hung up his phone and frowned at the device in his hand, and then over at Vala and his friend Darrell taking pot-shots at tin-cans, he tried to think of what would have been worse, having to go to his high school reunion and face his old crush with Vala swanning around or having to leave early for no reason he could tell anyone there and probably be labeled a coward for ducking out at the last second. 

He sighed, "Vala!" Vala turned from Darrell and waved, "Come here!" he said beckoning her with an emphatic arm wave. Vala rolled her eyes but walked over to him.

"What is it? Things were just starting to get interesting!" she said.

"Things are already too interesting," said Mitchell, "The base called we have to go back."

"What why?" Vala pouted.

"Some alien chick with beaming technology just grabbed Jackson, from his library in England."

"Someone stole my Daniel?" Vala cried loudly.

"Shush! Keep it down!" Mitchell put his fingers to his lips.

"Someone stole my Daniel!" Vala hissed, "No one steals my Daniel, but me!" she turned with her gun took out the rest of the cans walked purposely towards the car.

"Oh, boy," Mitchell sighed.

* * *

Sam and Bill Lee strapped plastic cuffs on their unconscious bounty hunter and Sam pulled out her cell phone. 

"I've got a message," she said listening, "General Landry's says be careful there may be bounty hunters about," she said.

"I think I found one," said Lee grinning, Sam kept listening her smile fell, "What is it?"

"Daniel."

* * *

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

More later, Cynic


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"We re-tuned the sensors," said Sam, "and found two more cloaked energy signatures, in the vicinity of Mitchell's reunion."

"Damn," said Mitchell, "that would have been a hell of a party."

"They disappeared shortly after, you and Vala boarded your flight to Colorado."

"So when they missed their chance they left," said Hank, "I don't buy it."

"We have a dampening field that prevents anyone from using beaming or ring technology inside the base; once we were back in the mountain we became untouchable," said Sam.

"So we're stuck here?" said Vala.

"Once we sent the 'we know you're there and we don't want to fire up our snazzy Ancient weapon system, but we will if you stay' message, all the ships in orbit left pretty quick, the Anubis ass-kicking still holds some weight." said Jack.

"So how do we get Daniel back?" Vala asked.

"That's the six-million dollar question young lady, I am open for any ideas." said Hank. An Airman came in and handed Landry a piece of paper. "Hello, this might be something; one of those energy signatures has reappeared here in Colorado: here are the coordinates." He passed them over to Jack.

"What are the chances we can sneak up on this guy and snag his ship?" asked Mitchell.

Sam took the coordinates and looked at them, "This is an empty field in a national park, if the ship has any decent sensors it'll detect our approach from a mile away, unless," Sam smiled thoughtfully.

"Unless?" asked Vala impatient.

"Unless we want him to detect us," said Sam.

* * *

Daniel had failed. He couldn't leave his body again, and while it was partly a relief, it was also a pain in the ass; he couldn't see the restraints to free himself with his powers, so he lay on the floor of Venta's cargo ship and tried to think of another way out. He didn't have to think long as Venta stood up from her seat at the controls and walked back towards him. 

"You're something else," she said to him shaking her head, "I come for a scientist I catch a super-freak, but lucky for me there's a market for both."

"I thought your bounty was from the Lucian Alliance," said Daniel.

"It is, and they can still trade for you, but I've been doing some research see, and you are a very coveted individual."

"Coveted eh?" said Daniel not really liking the turn the situation was taking.

"Yeah, SG-1, and the Tau'ri are infamous across the galaxy, lots of the remaining goa'uld want you guys dead for the damage you've done to their power base."

"Damage?" Daniel queried, "Oh, you mean helping the Jaffa find independence, killing off a bunch of system lords and pointing and laughing when the replicators took out the rest? Well, sure you could call it that, I'd say significant damage, but I'm a linguist, I prefer to be precise."

"Well, the 'significant' damage done by SG-1 and company has earned you a lot of enemies, as well as friends."

"What is this? This is your life in the galaxy?"

"Fine, what's that earth expression? I'll cut to the chase; the others are wanted for various reasons, O'Neill for his insolence and for being a Tok'ra sympathizer."

"I'm sure Jack would be thrilled to hear that."

"The Shol'va Teal'c for making the first moves to begin the Jaffa rebellion in force."

"I know Teal'c is respected and revered for that."

"He's also reviled and hated, on some Jaffa worlds where their gods abandoned them to fight the rebellion, to fight the replicators; they have nothing, and now they have no faith."

"They have their freedom."

"They have civil wars, plagues, draught, and famine. They have been abandoned by their gods and they don't know how to save themselves, they seek revenge."

"And they blame us?"

"Mostly they blame the new Jaffa government, but Teal'c is high on the list too."

"So what does that have to do with me?"

"You're special," said Venta smiling, "Did you know that Samantha Carter's beauty is coveted on hundreds of worlds, and her intelligence and knowledge on thousands?"

"I didn't know that," said Daniel, "but it doesn't surprise me."

"I know, she's cute, but not my type," Venta shrugged, "you however, your beauty, knowledge and intellect are known and coveted on thousands of worlds and hundreds of star-systems, your knowledge of the gate-builders is unparalleled added to the dubious rumors that you've actually met some Ancients and seen their plane of existence has also made you highly desirable to the Ori and their minions, in fact I got a bulletin a little before the one from the Lucian's about just you. I was coming to get you either way, but now with two 'official contracts' I can start a bidding war and make a really big score."

"You know where greed will get you?" asked Daniel.

"Rich as well as beautiful and intelligent?"

"Face down in a ditch somewhere, or flushed out an air-lock," Venta scowled at him and hit some buttons on the control panel and the force-shield started to buzz, as the buzzing got louder, a static charge seemed build up in the cell and when it discharged, the pain that ran through Daniel made him wish he could figure out how to escape his body again.

"Usually, I only use this on live-stock," said Venta watching Daniel's body jerk and shake in pain. "But you've pissed me off enough, so you keep quiet from now on okay?" Daniel's body stopped shaking, and then he stopped moving completely.

* * *

I hope everyone is well, I just bought the whole series! I may not sleep again until New Year! 

Later, Cynic


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Odai Ventrell, the infamous bounty hunter, sat in a holding-cell scowling at Sam, Mitchell, Teal'c Vala, and Jack. He couldn't believe he'd been fooled by that damn hologram! Odai scowled. Vala looked back smugly.

"Well, Odai," she said, "We're just going to borrow your ship for a little while and then when we get back, we'll discuss your situation." Vala's finger made the shape of the cell bars.

"When I get out of here, there will be no place you can hide! I will hunt you down!" cried Ventrell, straining at the handcuffs that held him. "I will hunt you all down!"

"You know," said Jack, "we were considering letting you go, giving you another job to do with a better pay off. But if you're that bent on revenge, maybe we'll just leave you here." Jack shrugged, as if this didn't matter to him either way, "You have a think, and we'll talk when we get back." Jack and company left the infamous bounty hunter to his thoughts.

* * *

Daniel sincerely hoped that he didn't have to get tortured into unconsciousness in order for him to practice his skills at astral projection, because if that was the case he really wanted to remain an amateur. Venta leaned over his prone body, her manner of one concerned at breaking an expensive vase, not having hurt a human being. 

"Are you dead?" she asked, tapping a catch on the restraints and removing them.

Daniel wondered if he could use his powers while in this state, and he focused on the restraints. The cuffs started to move, and he noticed the catch that Venta has used to free herself earlier, a sharp dig with his mind took care of that problem. Vent jerked back as the manacles moved towards her.

"What the hell?" she cried standing up and backing away from the floating restraints.

"I don't want to hurt you," said Daniel. Venta spun around to face Daniel and staggered back from him almost tripping over the unconscious form that Daniel had left behind.

"What in Sokar are you?" she gasped backing herself further into the cell away from both Daniels.

Daniel used his mind to pull his own body out of the cell and set the force field. Venta ran forward to the shield but Daniel pushed her back.

"I don't want to hurt you," he said again with a warning finger. Daniel cast his mind on the control panel, he knew his body would not be ready to wake for several hours, but he had to stop the ship until he could pilot it from his body. His spirit, for lack of a better word, was weakening; he could feel the energy slipping from him as he engaged the control to drop out of hyperspace. It would be so easy, he thought, looking down at his own lax face, and then he glanced at Venta, she was staring at him like she wasn't sure if he was a man or a monster, Daniel shook his head, some days he wasn't that sure himself.

* * *

Sorry for the long lapse, mea culpa. I finally finished my Grad school aps! Now I can focus on this fic and really do Daniel some damage!

I hope everyone had a good New Years! Later, Cynic


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Teal'c checked the display and adjusted his course.

"It's a good job Ventrell told us about that radiation signature the Lucian Alliance tagged us with," said Mitchell climbing into the co-pilot's seat.

"Indeed," said Teal'c and returned his attention to the view screen.

"So, when are you going to teach me to drive?" asked Mitchell tapping the control 'orb'.

"When we are not rushing to the aid of a fellow teammate," said Teal'c.

"Right," Mitchell grimaced and got up, "I'm just going to...," pointed to the rear of the ship, "Give a shout when you get the trail."

"I will in fact use the intercom, as I am unsure my voice can carry that far."

"That'll work," said Mitchell as he walked away.

* * *

Sam sat in the cargo hold cleaning her P90, she capped the oil and began to reassemble the weapon, as her hands moved without thought her mind was free to wander to her lost friend. She'd known Daniel for over ten years now, and the man just kept surprising her. From the moment they met, they had a spark, a connection. 

Daniel a way of seeing the world that no one she'd ever met had even come close to he guessed things, because he could see where something was going. He could see the pattern before it formed and he would just jump to the end, to the conclusion that would be almost impossible, but with a few more pieces became the obvious answer.

Sam loved Daniel for his brilliance, but she also hated him too. She was jealous, Daniel could see so much beyond him and while Sam could theorize all she wanted to she could never just know the way Daniel knew, she had to see it through the steps to identify the pattern.

What was that quote? Genius was figuring a way from A to D without using any Bs or Cs. That was Daniel Jackson, not a B or C in sight! Sam always took solace in science, that was her outlet her peace. Daniel was ideas, but in practice, it was all Sam, except now. Now Daniel had the science, his reports proved that, he'd totally redesigned the dialing program to incorporate all the signals the gate transmitted and added several hundred new addresses to the system. It would have taken Sam years to figure out all that. Hell, it did!

Sam loved her friend, trusted him without a doubt, knew he would always do the right thing, but now with this power inside him, with this new knowledge that surpassed her own…She slammed home the ammo clip and cocked the weapon, Sam was afraid of him and she didn't know what to do with that emotion.

* * *

Back by popular demand, the elusive creature the double post, and it's new friend the re-post, especially for those who had trouble floating down Sam's stream of consciousness! If you're really good double post may come back later this week :D 

Later, Cynic


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Mitchell watched Sam cleaning her weapon in the corner of the cargo hold, and refrained from interrupting her. It was clear his teammate had something on her mind that she was struggling with, and contrary to what most people believed, he did know when to butt-out.

Vala on the other hand, Mitchell's gaze wandered to his other teammate as she sat chewing gum and reading, of all things, an archaeology magazine.

"Where did you get that?" he asked walking over to her.

Vala snapped a bubble with her tongue and looked up at him, "These are the only magazines Daniel ever buys, some of it's interesting, but most of it is a lot of dusty old men's ponderings about a world they really know nothing about. I know more about Earth's true history than some of these bozos!"

Mitchell grinned at her.

"What?"

"For a second or two there, I could have sworn you were channeling Jackson."

Vala looked shocked. "My god!" she dropped the magazine like was toxic. "I think you're right! I may be infected!" She held up two fingers in front of her face moving them closer and further away, "My vision seems to be unaffected, that's good. Quick tell me an inane joke."

"What?" asked Mitchell, bewildered.

"Daniel's been trying to turn me into one of his little history people," her lips spat the moniker as if it was a bad taste in her mouth, "ever since I got here! I think it may be working," she said clearly horrified.

"I think you figured out that Jackson wouldn't go for you just because you're hot."

"You think I'm hot?" Vala beamed.

"I think you've been showing an interest in Jackson's work because it means more to him than anything else."

"I don't think I like where this is going."

"Nor do I," said Mitchell, "It might just sneak up on Jackson too, and then we kiss goodbye to SG-1."

"You think Daniel could like me?" asked Vala clearly a little dubious.

Mitchell shook his head, "He already likes you Vala, why do you think he's gone to so much trouble to make a place for you here? He may win awards for being mister nice guy but he's no saint, he's got to see something in you to keep you around this long."

Vala seemed to consider this, and then she smiled almost sadly, letting her façade slip a little, "He's my best friend," she said, "he's the first real friend I ever had that I could trust no matter what. We have to get him back so I can make sure he knows that."

"He already knows," said Mitchell, "but when we drag him out of the arms of Ms Bounty Hunter, I sure he'd love to hear you say it."

Vala nodded resolutely and walked off back toward the cockpit.

* * *

Alright kiddies, that's all for now and if you're very good and aren't cranky at nap time there'll be some more storytime for you then.

Night, Night

Cynic


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Mollusk-like alien Nacres thought it was his lucky day, a cargo ship unshielded just sat out in the open waiting to be plucked. Oh, it was going to be such a good score! Except, there were life-signs, two of them, one was pretty weak, but the other was pulsing long and strong. The space scavenger pondered waiting until the weak one stop transmitting before making his move, but ultimately decided this was too good an opportunity to pass up, he'd ring over a stun grenade and then pick up what he could. Nacres grinned in anticipation, his lucky day!

* * *

Teal'c sounded the intercom as promised when Daniel's signal came into range.

"We there yet?" asked Mitchell coming into the cockpit.

"There are two cargo ships," said Teal'c, "both stationary. One contains the life signs of two humans and one indistinct signal. The other ship is empty."

"This Venta woman might have a partner," said Sam.

"Or this could be a drop off point for the Lucian Alliance," said Vala, "They could be negotiating for Daniel right now."

"Saddle up people, we've got an archaeologist to rescue," said Mitchell as he turned to the door.

SG-1 beamed on to the ship in battle formation, but what they found was completely confusing. A woman lay unconscious behind a force field in a recessed corner of the room. An alien lay nearby its exoskeleton seemingly burned to a crisp, and in the middle curled up in a ball was Daniel.

"What in Sam Hill happened here?" cried Mitchell.

Sam approached Daniel and touched his neck. "Ow!" she cried snatching her hand back.

"What is it? What happened?" asked Vala.

"It was nothing, a spark, it shocked me," Sam reached down again and felt Daniel's pulse. "He's alive," she said, "but his pulse is very weak, we have to get him out of here."

"What about her?" Mitchell asked, standing by the force field.

"Ow!" The woman behind the shield sat up suddenly clutching her head, she opened her eyes groaned and lay back down again, "Not a dream then," she said.

"Sorry, this is as real as it gets," said Mitchell, "want to tell us what's going on?"

"I was knocked out," she said groggily, "I guess I missed the fun."

"Why have you been detained?" asked Teal'c moving closer to Daniel's position to assist Sam in examining him.

"Wasn't my idea, trust me," said Venta, "My eyes are still a bit fuzzy from the shock grenade, can you tell me one thing?"

"What's that?" asked Sam looking up from sorting out her medical supplies.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my ship?"

"You would be Venta, then," said Vala looking dangerous.

"What's it to you?" Venta squinted at them through the field.

"Well, you kidnapped my Daniel, that's what it is to me!" cried Vala.

Venta blinked again, and her face fell, "Ah, crap!"

* * *

"We used the magnetic toeing hooks on the ships to get all three back here," said Sam finishing her report.

"Have you found anything that would tell us what happened on that ship?" asked Hank, "You say this alien was burned?"

"Incinerated, sir," said Mitchell, "and Jackson was just a foot way without a scorch mark on him."

"What about bounty hunter, Venta, is she talking?"

"No," said Sam, "and the flight recorder was damaged by whatever happened we're trying to reconstruct it."

"What about Dr Jackson?"

"He's sleeping," Sam shrugged, "Dr Lam reports that all his tests come back like he hasn't eaten or slept for days."

"But we know otherwise?"

"He ate and slept fine on the mission," said Mitchell, "and I saw him eating lunch with General O'Neill before I left for home."

"We called his hotel in England and assured his friend Jake that Daniel was fine but had just been called back to work on urgent business," said Sam, "Jake said he and Daniel had shared a huge meal the night before and also a bottle single-malt, they both passed out afterward," Sam suppressed a smile.

"So what can we conclude from this?" asked Hank.

"When Daniel uses his powers, he uses lots energy, it speeds up his metabolism," said Sam.

"So whatever happened on that ship forced him to use almost everything he had to stop it," said Mitchell.

* * *

Oh, my little chillblains! You've all been so good! I hope you enjoyed this latest installment and do come again for story time soon. Be careful out there on the streets it can be very dangerous, especially if you're an attractive young man with an interest in the social sciences. :-D 

Later, Cynic


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

Daniel tried to wedge himself further into the corner, tried to crouch his body into a smaller position, so that he could concentrate what little body heat he had left. He was frozen, he was sure of it, his fingers were numb, he wasn't even sure he had toes anymore and despite the voice whispering in his head that he'd had worse, he couldn't really think of anything worse than what was happening at that moment.

"You can come to my fire," a friendly warm voice echoed from the darkness of his cell and a small campfire flared up in the opposite corner, "Come, you will feel better in the warmth and the light."

Daniel found his gaze fixed on the fire, his mind weakening at the promise of warmth and light that he'd not had in so very long, but the voice in his head hissed at him, 'Resist! It is a trap! You will be lost in the flames!'

Lost in flames, Daniel thought, that had a familiar ring to it, no not flames, fire, it was 'Lost in Fire' that was something, wasn't it? Lost in fire, lost in fire, dead, that planet was dead and if Daniel became lost too, he'd die. No that was wrong, he would change, he wouldn't lose his life, but he would be lost, forgotten. Forgotten by whom?

Daniel stared into the flames, willing the heat to come closer. There was someone, who was it? Before the voices, and the cold and the darkness and the fire, there was someone, more than one, he thought, but he couldn't even remember a face, or even a name.

His own voice had failed him long ago his screams could not drown out the other voices. There was the woman with her calm dangerous voice full of coaxing and forbidding words. There was the man in the back of his head, with his creaking insistent voice full of rhetoric and Ancient. The last one wasn't a voice it was a chorus, a group, with a chant that repeated the same phrase over and over again.

"Hallowed are the Ori, Hallowed are the Ori,"

Daniel knew what it meant, understood what would happen if he said it too, and sat by the fire, but he was so cold and so alone. He would have faked it, if he thought they'd buy it, but she knew his thoughts, almost as well as the man in his head did. Daniel knew she was waiting for him to cave, to believe in her as the emissary, as a god. But Daniel would never believe it, never cave to her will no matter what they did, no matter how cold he was no matter how much pain he was in, he would never believe.

Blind faith was just not a part of who he was and he suspected Adria knew that. 'You can go to the fire now,' said the old man even as Daniel thought this, 'I will protect your thoughts from her, you must survive to complete my plan,' he said, 'I will protect you, do what you must.' Daniel pulled himself up the wall his strength failing him as his legs barely took his weight.

"Hallowed are the Ori!" Daniel whispered in line with the chant, "Hallowed are the Ori!" he said, his voice growing stronger as he stepped out from the support of the wall, "Hallowed are the Ori!" Daniel cried and the fire grew bigger more intense, Daniel threw his arms out at the inferno. "Hallowed are the Ori!" he shouted and was taken into the fire.

* * *

Ya'll come back now ya here:-D

Later, Cynic


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-four

"What's wrong with the monitors?" asked Vala, pointing out the static on the screens showing Daniel's vital signs.

"For some reason he's giving off an EM field, it's not uncommon when a person has developed psychic abilities," said Lam checking Daniel's chart and making some notes.

"But this didn't happen before," said Vala.

"We just didn't register it before, but now it's increased to a noticeable range."

"So he's getting worse?"

"Not worse per say, his synaptic activity has increased significantly, I'd say he's getting stronger, more powerful."

"Is that good?"

"I really don't know, Daniel's been changed to accommodate these gifts as it were, but we just don't know how to measure and gauge what he's going through."

Vala looked confused, so Lam tried to explain.

"His metabolism has increased by over a hundred percent, so we're stuffing nutrients into his system very quickly to keep the levels up, now this would normally show wear in his organ function and blood work up, but it's not! It's as if what's happened in his mind is able to adapt the body to match, his organs aren't being overworked despite the extra input, they've been strengthened somehow," Lam shrugged, "I can't explain it, I can't predict how much adaptation is possible before the power really is too much and overwhelms him, frankly I'm surprised he survived the trip back to earth in his condition."

Vala sat back down next to Daniel's bed and grasped his hand, "Daniel's strong," she said holding him gently, as he struggled against invisible bonds and monsters in his dreams. "Its okay, Daniel," she told him, "I'm going to protect you, and you're going to be alright."

Daniel stilled instantly, his body went rigid and he squeezed Vala's hand very tightly and began to seize. Sparks flew from the machines around his bed, and Vala tried to get free so she could hold him down, but she couldn't undo his grip, he only held on tighter. As sparks and then flames started exploding off of Daniel himself, a line of flames and sparks started to arc across his body shorting all the monitors at once, the fire spread to the sheets, and the bed flowing across the floor like water, coating Daniel's body and lighting the room in an eerie candlelight effect. Nurses, Doctors and technicians fled the room, but all the while Vala stood untouched by the heat and fire that was passing through Daniel and the rest of the room. Daniel stilled and opened his eyes and looked straight at Vala the flames reflected in the sightless orbs, "Hallowed are the Ori," he whispered and went limp.

The fire snuffed out just as quickly as it had erupted. Vala pulled her hand from Daniel's now lax grip, and winced when she tried to make a fist. She looked down on her friend his face covered in sheen of sweat from his struggles the blankets were tatters at his legs, and his eyes were still moving beneath their lids. Daniel moaned and opened his eyes, "A dream," he sighed, and then he saw Vala and the mess around him.

"A flashback," said Vala.

"Bad?" asked Daniel.

"You tell me," she said.

"I had to walk into the fire and be lost," he said, "so I could survive long enough to be found."

"And we did find you," said Vala.

"No," said Daniel shaking his head, "I found myself, and showed you where to look. It took you so long to come," he said shuddering, "too long."

"I'm so sorry it took us so long, but you're home now, you're home and you are found," said Vala reaching out to pull him into a hug, "and I promise to never lose you again."

* * *

"So what the hell happened?" asked Jack pacing his Pentagon office as he waited for a reply on the speakerphone. 

"We're still not sure Jack," said Hank, his voice slightly distorted over the phone.

"You said he was alright!"

"Physically, Dr Jackson is fine," Jack rolled his eyes, "he's just a little fuzzy on the details of what happened."

"What about what's her name? The bounty hunter, Vector?"

"Ventrell?"

"No, the other one, the chick."

"She spilled pretty easily, wanted to make sure we knew that Daniel did more damage to her than she did to him."

"So what exactly did she do to him?" asked Jack a dangerous tone in his voice.

"The cell she uses for her bounties is also used to transport livestock," said Hank, "the techs that are examining the ship said it would be something akin to an all over cattle-prod, times a hundred."

"Shit!" said Jack, "So how'd she end up in the cell and Daniel end up taking a nap next to the Cajun Shellfish Alien?"

"We're not sure she was a little fuzzy about that, something about him getting the upper hand when she went to check on him, and then we're assuming the alien beamed in a shock-grenade and then ringed over himself."

"There's nothing on the ship that would explain why he's now a crispy critter?"

"They've not found anything to explain it yet."

"I guess Daniel can explain when he's up and about."

"He says the last thing he remembers is looking down on himself from far away," said Hank hesitantly.

"Well, that doesn't sound good," said Jack, then he turned back at the tone of Hanks voice. "What aren't you telling me?" he asked.

"There was an incident in the infirmary."

"What kind of incident?"

"By all accounts, Dr Jackson burst into flames."

"What?" cried Jack, "Daniel was immolated and you don't tell me this straight off the bat?"

"He's fine Jack, not even a scorch mark, Vala's made the suggestion it was some sort of a flashback to his time as a prisoner."

"Being burned alive?" Jack winced, "That wasn't in his report."

"No, no it isn't," said Hank, "But then he never actually went into any detail as to the nature of his imprisonment." Jack heard the hesitation in his voice, before he continued,

"We just assumed…"

"That he'd cracked almost immediately," Jack sighed, "it is okay Hank, we were all thinking it, or in my case hoping it. I just don't think we want to think about what happened to him up to the point when he let Merlin take over, or what she did to him that made him do that."

"After watching the footage from the infirmary, I still don't think I want to know."

* * *

I made this a bit longer to make up for such a long interval. I hope you're all enjoying the story so far and I'll to be better at updating as often as I can.

Later, Cynic


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty Five

Sam stood and watched as a nurse helped Daniel finish getting dressed. He was still weak, but he was being allowed back on light duties, and rest in his on base quarters. It occurred to Sam that there had been a time when she wouldn't have hesitated to walk over and help. She'd offer Daniel her arm while he maneuvered the shirt on over his elbows, but she realized that was actually a long time ago.

Sam mourned for the friendship she'd once shared with him, and found herself wondering at what point she stopped being friends, and just carried on as colleagues, and acquaintances. It had been before his ascension she reasoned, she'd been forced to side with General O'Neill whenever the two men had butted heads, and it just started happening a lot. Then Daniel was gone, not dead gone, that came later, but gone off with other teams, finding his own adventures without them, avoiding the confrontations with the General and consequently cutting himself off from Sam and Teal'c too she supposed.

Moreover, they'd just let it happen, they'd let him go, and suddenly he really was gone. She'd cried for him and moved on, and then he was back and trying so hard just to slip into his place. It hadn't worked, she realized, Daniel had resumed his place on SG-1 but not with the team, he was a smiling stranger that wore Daniel's face. It scared her more than anything that she'd let it stay that way, she'd accepted it for two years, until they'd all decided to abandon the group as a bad deal. Sam almost gasped as she realized that she'd left without saying goodbye to him, without even talking to him, and she had the sneaking suspicion that neither Jack or Teal'c had spoken to Daniel either, and with them all gone, Daniel being who he was had chosen to go to Atlantis, but even that hadn't worked out.

Sam thought of the young man of 10 years ago she'd instantly connected with and couldn't reconcile him with the man she was looking at now. She wondered what had happened to the passion and zest. It seemed to have dimmed in this man now, and she missed it so much.

Sam felt a breeze on her neck and looked around, suddenly she was caught up in a whirlwind, images flashed by her and she watched as an outsider to her life,with the Stargate, starting with her meeting Daniel, and their conversation watched by Jack and Kowalski heads bobbing like the audience at a tennis match. Then they were laughing and joking around the campfire, many campfires and many jokes, many team nights filled with laughter rolled by and, Sam smiled remembering.

Then the scene changed, evolved, a fire enveloped Daniel and he was screaming and she tried to look away, but couldn't, the scene merged into a hallway, a staff-blast wound covered Daniel's chest as he struggled to crawl, or slither on his side, fighting for breath as every inch was covered in agony. A rock fall brought Sam to the mines of Pyrus and Daniel's scream as he was covered in the downfall. 'Why didn't we wait?' was all Sam could think as the picture changed again to a museum and another rock fall and the look of total desolation on Daniel's face as he watched his parents killed over and over again.

Sam watched in horror as Daniel was shot and beaten and zatted, and raped, and killed over and over again. She watched as every time he went back to his office and sat down and got back to work. At first they'd come to roust him out, mostly Jack, but sometimes Sam or Teal'c and then after a while he was just left there, just Daniel working away and leaving only to go on missions.

Then the scene changed again, Daniel was sat alone in a very dark room. Sam could feel the cold it seemed to chill her from the inside out. There was Daniel sat with no shirt on, his back was a mess of welts and blood ran freely from some of the cuts, Sam gasped recognizing the room as one aboard an Ori ship. There was sound now, a chant, "Hallowed are the Ori, Hallowed are the Ori," it repeated and almost became a hum in the background, as Sam became aware of other voices in the room.

One was Adria. "Join me, and be free of pain, set yourself on the path to ascension and you will find a life so wonderful within the light of the Ori."

The other voice was an old man, "Hold," it hissed, "Hold and I will protect the knowledge from her," Merlin, Sam realized whispering in Daniel's head.

She could hear Daniel's thoughts now, and he too was chanting, "They will find me, they will find me, they will find me," Sam had the feeling he'd been doing that awhile, and then his thoughts just suddenly changed it was as if Daniel realized something in the fraction of a second between his chants. The voices didn't change, but something in Daniel must have, because his thoughts became, "Let me die, let me die, let me die." Suddenly the whole room was filled with fire, and Daniel screamed, as he was burned alive.

Sam reached out but found herself stood back in the infirmary Daniel was walking stiffly towards the door. She wanted to call out to him, but she found herself breathless and when she looked back, he was already gone.

* * *

Daniel barely glanced at Sam as he walked out of the infirmary, his mind was, as usual, racing with everything around him and nothing in particular, he needed to go mediate before he started hearing or rather seeing other people's thoughts, it was really disconcerting when that happened while he was unprepared, and he certainly didn't want to see what had put that look of utter horror on Sam's face, he wondered absently why she was even in the infirmary at all.

* * *

Okay, you've had your lot for today, I'm cutting you off! You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here! lol! 

Later, Cynic


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

Daniel sat in his quarters on the floor with a candle in front of him, he closed his eyes took a deep breath and nothing happened. He changed his focus and the candle lifted up and floated into his hand. Daniel put the candle back down again, but continued to look at his hand, he turned it over and back again staring intently on the palm and suddenly, it burst into flames. It was a strange sensation he could see the fire, feel the heat of it on his face, but there was no pain in his hand no discomfort at all. Daniel moved his hand and watched the fire sway with the motion, then after a few seconds it went out leaving Daniel's hand completely untouched. This time when Daniel returned to the candle he simply reached out his finger and set the wick alight.

* * *

Hank read the necropsy report from the alien found with Daniel and his bounty hunter, he shuddered - burned alive, was the tentative cause of death, but of course they'd never seen a species like his before so there was no way of knowing if he'd been killed first, the other physical evidence, however said it was unlikely. Of other particular note was that a medical technician had noted someone had already begun cutting Dr Jackson's clothes off when he arrived in the infirmary, though he wanted to stress that was for trained personnel only as evidenced by the scratches present beneath the cuts on Jackson's torn T-shirt and at the cuffs on his trousers. After seeing the security footage of Daniel's flashback, and seeing the claws the creature had for hands, Hank had no problems coming up with a believable scenario for what happened on that cargo ship.

* * *

Dr Jeffery Richards looked over the reports in front of him and he could barely contain himself it was all so exciting! Jackson had managed to control his powers in record time, use them with success on a mission, and not only that they were expanding! This proved Richards theories about the human vs. Ancient genetic structures. He'd done preliminary research with samples from Iana, the Ancient found in Antarctica, O'Neill, -Richards scowled when he thought of that arrogant General being more genetically advanced -, and lastly Kalek Anubis' half breed son. Now comparing the changes in Jackson's strands Richards was very close to realizing his life's work: Real time genetic manipulation of the human strand. He was so close he could taste it! All he needed was a baseline, a subject with the changes already in place. He needed to study the effects the genetic changes would have on a person as a whole, it was research he should have been doing months ago when they discovered Jackson's powers, it would have been great to map the development of his synapses, but that moment had passed. He'd not pushed then, when he should have, but with this new development, he had a window, one his friends at the NID would be happy to pry open for him.

* * *

Ta daah! 

Now let's get the points from the judges, will she be able to land the the score she needs to get the gold, or will she have to settle for silver?

Later Cynic :D


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty Seven

Hank spit a curse through clenched teeth as he read the latest directive met out by the IOA. They'd read the reports of the most recent missions and they'd decided on the sacrifice they wanted to ensure the SGC's budget for another year. It was quite simple. It was actually something Hank had expected especially after the recent developments. The IOA was in it for the power and they wanted the one man who had power to burn, literally, they wanted Daniel Jackson.

* * *

Sam sat in her lab looking down the lens of a microscope without really seeing anything that was there. After what had happened in the infirmary, she'd almost gone to Lam and asked for a work up. Then she realized that it was about Daniel, Lam had warned them his weakened state might make him lose some of the control he had over his abilities it was why she was releasing him to his quarters for privacy and quiet, psychically as well as physically, except instead of accidentally reading Sam's mind, Daniel had projected his own thoughts into hers. She'd asked a question and Daniel's subconscious had answered it for her. She didn't know what was worse, knowing how much horrible stuff ran through Daniel's mind all the time, or that she'd often been jealous of him over the years for being able to see so much more than she could. 

Sam stood up and crossed the room. She pulled down an old photo album she kept hidden there. It was pictures of her team, memories she enjoyed reliving unlike what she'd seen of Daniel's thoughts these were images of pleasure and joy. She flicked through the album smiling at the pictures of all of them at barbeques and parties. There were pictures of a younger Daniel laughing at something Jack had said with Teal'c looking on amused. but as time went on the pictures of Daniel started to change, he was still smiling in most of them, still sitting next to Jack for the most part, sometimes she'd caught him mid speech explaining something to Teal'c and that made Sam smile, but later Daniel became background, and off to one side incidental, but not the subject of the photo. Sam wasn't in a lot of the early pictures because she'd been the one with the camera, but somewhere along the way, she started giving the camera to other people to take pictures of her with the others. She looked at a picture from six years ago she hadn't even noticed how sad it was. She'd sat on a lawn chair at some party or something next to Jack, smiling or laughing at something, but Jack wasn't even paying any attention to her, he was looking off to the side of the shot where Daniel stood holding two drinks frowning. She'd taken his spot, next to Jack without thinking about it.

Sam suddenly realized that's what she'd been trying to do for so many years, she felt a blush of shame rush up her cheeks, she'd been trying to move into the spot next to Jack, at first only professionally because officially it was her spot, she was second in command on the team, she was supposed to be at his right hand, but Daniel had been there before she was, even before the team was formed, they had a connection, a bond that she could never rival, because it went deeper than professional regard, and normal friendship. It was love, pure love with no strings and no conditions. Oh, she didn't think they were having sex or anything, but they each filled a void that the other had and it made them happy.

Sam wished she'd seen that and known what it was like to have that connection to someone. She took a moment, for Pete, because he deserved that much, she loved him, but not enough, he was too nice. Sam snorted at the thought and remembered talking to Daniel once about her taste in men, something about the lunatic fringe. She thought about the men she'd been with in the passed few years and realized they were all a bit nuts, and consequently all dead. Jack was safe, a warm pleasant dream on cold nights, she repeated that realization she'd had aboard the Prometheus, but realized again that she'd gotten bogged down in alternate universes, and feeling feelings that ultimately weren't strong enough for either of them to take any steps. She had to face facts; she was married to her work, and nothing, not even Jack O'Neill, could come in between them.

Sam turned the page of the album, found a picture of herself and Janet, and almost burst into tears.

"It was my fault," she said tears welling up.

"Why do you say that?" asked Janet sitting across the desk.

"I didn't hold the line," said Sam, "and one got through."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do, I let myself become too emotionally involved and you died!" Sam cried.

"Yes, that's true," said Janet.

"What!" Sam cried shocked

"What?" Janet shrugged frowning a little.

"You agree?" asked Sam in disbelief.

"Yes it's true, you are too emotionally involved," said Janet, "and it's also true that I am dead. But one has got little to do with the other."

"Little?"

"There were two Jaffa on that hill," said Janet, "one had already got through when Jack got a bead on the second one."

"The one I let through."

"Yeah, there's no way to know if just the one could have made it, but," she shrugged, "no use crying over spilt milk."

"Spilt milk, Janet you died!"

"I know I felt it, and I heard Daniel screaming below as I left," Janet shook her head, "I wish I could have spared him that."

"We all grieved Janet."

"No, you used me," Janet accused, "albeit unconsciously, you used me to get to Jack, while Daniel was out of the way."

"That's not fair! I was upset I needed him!"

"Cassie needed you!" cried Janet.

"I was there for her, I moved to Nevada for her!"

"You moved to Nevada for your job!"

Sam burst into tears, "I'm sorry!" she cried, "I'm so sorry, I couldn't help her, I couldn't be there for her. I couldn't be you."

"No expects you to be, Sam."

"Yes! They did! They all assumed that just because I was the woman I would take care of her." Sam was almost yelling

"Daniel didn't," said Janet quietly.

"What?" Sam deflated in seconds, "What do you mean?"

"He went with the detail to tell Cassie, he sat with her for two days while she screamed at him and then cried on him."

"I didn't, I didn't know," Sam whispered.

"I know," said Janet sadly, "he blames himself, wishes it was him and not me."

Sam shook her head, "That sounds like Daniel."

"Do you?" asked Janet.

"What?"

"Wish he'd died instead of me? Or I'll go you one better, do you wish he'd stayed ascended so you could stay top dog?"

"No!" cried Sam, "God no, he's like my little brother, I loved him. I, I still love him. We were empty when he left, Jack just shut down, and Teal'c, Teal'c got so quiet." Sam let the tears fall, "We were dead without him."

"And what are you now?" asked Janet getting up and walking towards her.

Sam paused her expression frozen, scared almost, "I don't know," she whispered.

"Now we're at the heart of the problem," said Janet.

* * *

Shakabuku for Sam. lol! 

Later, Cynic :-D


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"You were jealous," said Janet sitting at the small table in Sam's on base quarters, where they'd moved so Sam could clean herself up a bit. 

"I still am," said Sam, she was sitting on the bed with a mug of coffee warming her hands. "Jack and Daniel have something I've never had." 

"But what about your friendship with Daniel?" asked Janet, "You were inseparable in the beginning you were always supporting his protests for scientific study, but then suddenly you stopped. You took Jack's side, and started questioning every leap Daniel made, negating any assertion he put forth, why?" 

"Part of it," said Sam, "was the jealousy, I wanted to set myself a part from him so I could set myself above of him, though not consciously," she qualified, "I've been thinking a lot more clearly lately, and I figure I was also following the General's lead, he distanced himself from Daniel and I saw an opening," she shrugged. 

"I'm sorry; I just never thought you could be that cold," said Janet frowning, "but I guess I should have." 

"I shouldn't have let it get so bad," said Sam, "I mean General O'Neill encouraged us to compete I think, and I took it further." 

"And Daniel never even thought it was a competition." 

"I thought I was in love with him," said Sam suddenly, "Jack I mean," She clarified, "I had flirted with it a bit and then I saw proof in the alternate realities, in all the infinite possibilities we stumble into two where Jack and I are a couple, I mean that had to mean something didn't it?" 

"You of all people should know that's wrong." 

"I know, the other Carters were civilians, and the goa'uld had taken over the world." 

"And?" 

"And Daniel wasn't there in either of them," Sam sighed, "Daniel told me in the first alternate universe that the other Jack and Sam didn't even kiss goodbye. I know he was a General but come on! From Daniel's description, they were completely different people, and I know I was nothing like the other one we met. I guess going Air Force changed me more than I thought." 

"You think if you were a civilian you could have gotten that close to Jack?" 

"No, Daniel beat me to it again," she crooked a smile, "Jack has room for one at his side and it's not me, we're too different, and too stubborn to compromise. We danced around it so long I entertained the idea so long I stopped thinking of myself as really single, but he's never going to retire for me, and I'm sure as hell not giving up my work for him, it's not worth it, for either of us." 

"I'm glad you realize that, Sam," said Janet smiling, "So what about Daniel?" 

"I screwed up, big time and I'm going to have to work doubly hard to remake our friendship if it's ever going to be more than a lingering work relationship." 

"Do you want your friendship back?" 

"I want my brother back," said Sam sincerely but hesitating. 

"But?" Janet prompted. 

"But I'm afraid, it's gone so far now and it's too late to get back what we had." 

"And?" 

"And I'm afraid of what's happening to him," said Sam, "he's becoming so powerful and knowledgeable, I can't keep up with him." 

"You mean you can't compete," said Janet. 

"It's hard to break the habits of a lifetime in one afternoon," said Sam smiling a little and looking down at her cup, "I guess I'm afraid he won't need me anymore, why do you need a big sister if you can throw things across the room just by thinking about it?" 

"Two things," said Janet getting up from her seat and sitting next to Sam, "and then you have to go, one, Daniel is a fully grown highly independent man, he never needed a big sister, but he always wanted a friend," Janet looked Sam straight in the eye, "and two, always remember, you are dealing with Daniel Jackson, the most selfless, courageous and forgiving man on the face of this planet, and most others." Sam smiled at Janet tears filling her eyes. 

"SG-1 to the briefing room! SG-1 to the briefing room!" Sam looked up, surprised by the announcement and when she looked back, Janet was gone. 

* * *

Daniel sat leaning back in his chair looking out the briefing room window, he'd managed to meditate for a good couple of hours and regained a semblance of the control he'd had over his abilities, though for some reason his coffee cup never seemed to be empty… 

He already knew why he was there, Landry had been thinking really hard ever since Daniel had come into the briefing room. He watched the General walking back and forth in front of the window clearly talking to someone on speakerphone. Judging from the hand gestures and the images of prisoner of war camps running through his head it wasn't going well. The NID wanted Daniel and they were using the IOA to get him. Daniel took a sip of his newly refreshed coffee and contemplated his options. Soon his teammates began to arrive. Teal'c and Vala came in together and Daniel could have laughed at the conversation as they took their seats.

"All I'm saying," said Vala, taking a seat next to Daniel, "is the parallels between the two cultures of P2R-945 and M14-343 have diverged so greatly that the common roots of the moon-people to the planet dwellers were easily missed."

Teal'c smirked enigmatically and sat down opposite.

"But," continued Vala, "they are there, and showing them could start an end to the hostilities."

Daniel shook his head in disbelief when a closer look at Vala's thoughts proved she was serious. "She is right," said Daniel, "the Prussian roots of the Terrainans and the Lunarians civilizations are a good starting point for the negotiations to take place, and if they can work together we can use their transport device to move the minerals we've mined on the moon down to the planet and the Stargate."

"Exactly!" said Vala vindicated.

"I'll be sure to mention that to Major Kovachek when the delegates get here," said Daniel.

"Really?" asked Vala surprised that she was being taken seriously.

"Really, it's good suggestion." said Daniel sincerely.

Vala beamed and Sam walked in followed closely by Mitchell.

"Does anyone know what this meeting is about?" asked Sam suspiciously touching the corner of her eyes. She sat next to Daniel and gave him a slight smile when he turned to her.

Mitchell sat opposite Daniel and poured himself a glass of water from the jug in the center of the table. "Not a clue," he said taking a sip and leaning back.

"Landry's got some kind of message from Washington," said Daniel.

"How do you know?" asked Sam.

"Walter said he was on the phone to Jack," said Daniel, "and he's been gesturing emphatically since I came in." He gestured to the window, every looked that way and Hank came out of his office a little flustered.

Sam and Mitchell stood to attention but Hank waved them down.

"At ease people," he said and sat at the head of the table, "I just got a communiqué from the IOA, they're very interested in the development of Dr Jackson's condition," he said without preamble.

"Dr Richards has been calling in a few favors," said Daniel quietly.

Hank gave him a funny look and continued, "So it would seem. They want you to submit to testing."

"No," said Daniel.

Hank nodded unsurprised, "That's what General O'Neill said you'd say, unfortunately this is a legitimate order and there's nothing I can do to stop them from coming and getting you."

"That's ridiculous!" said Sam, "He has rights!"

"I don't understand," said Vala, "Daniel's undergone testing already for his injuries and he's fine."

"They don't want to treat me," said Daniel, "they want to study me."

Vala still didn't get it.

"Remember those alien abduction movies I showed you?" said Mitchell.

Vala's eyes widened in shock, "They can't do that!"

"They've done similar things and worse before now," said Daniel with a shrug.

"And what you're just going to let this happen?" Sam asked Landry.

"My hands are tied; they have clearance to enter the base. Dr Jackson can either submit to the tests, or he will be taken by force."

"But you weren't supposed to tell me that part," said Daniel smirking.

"I guess it just slipped out," Hank shrugged.

"So what do we do?" asked Sam.

"You can bet they'll come in force," said Mitchell.

"And they'll try the anti-prior device," said Sam nodding.

"I'm already immune to that," said Daniel, "and I'm pretty sure I can take whoever shows up. But I don't want to hurt anyone for just doing their job."

"I can't be privy to this, but my orders are to have Dr Jackson confined until the representatives from the IOA get here."

"When will that be?" asked Sam.

"In approximately 19 hours."

"Why don't I just go to my quarters, you can assign Teal'c to 'guard' me," said Daniel.

"Very well," said Hank, "You're all dismissed."

* * *

And now on with the Show!

Cynic 


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Daniel slid his card through the lock on the door to his quarters, the lock clicked and he opened the door. Inside he flipped on the overhead lights, the coffeepot and his laptop in quick succession. Teal'c stood in the doorway and cocked and eyebrow. 

"What?" Daniel asked. Teal'c stepped into the room. 

"I was under the impression you had an apartment off base, Daniel Jackson." 

"I did, but I sublet it to Mitchell when I thought I was going to Atlantis." 

"That was almost two years ago, Daniel Jackson." 

"I've been busy," Daniel shrugged. 

Teal'c frowned, "What of your house?" 

"I Let it out to some grad students, really nice kids there's no mortgage, so they pay utilities and a fair rent goes into a trust fund for Cassie." 

Teal'c almost smiled, it was such a Daniel Jackson thing to do, but he couldn't help but wonder how no one had noticed that Daniel hadn't moved off the base, especially having been gone for more than four months, if he had had an apartment, it would have been full of mail and rotten food. Had no one thought to check? 

Daniel sensed Teal'c discomfort and got a flash of the images running through his head. "It's okay Teal'c, I have a PO Box and I always clean out the fridge before going to save the world." Daniel smiled trying to break the tension but Teal'c's expression darkened. 

"I have failed you Daniel Jackson," he said gravely, Daniel wanted to protest, but he knew Teal'c wouldn't hear it, "and I will rectify the situation at the earliest opportunity." 

Daniel smiled understandingly, "If you feel you must," he said reaching out to put a hand on Teal'c's shoulder, "but know that you are, and will always be in my mind one of my truest friends." 

"I am honored," Teal'c gave a short bow. 

"Would you excuse me for a few minutes? I have to call Jack and there may be some bad words exchanged that aren't for your ears." Daniel grinned. 

Teal'c inclined his head, "I shall await you in the hallway." 

Daniel closed the door on Teal'c's stiff back, and sighed, that was not a happy Jaffa, and it wasn't going to change any time soon. Daniel walked to his bedside table and picked up the phone he unscrewed the mouthpiece and dropped in a small scrambling device and screwed it back shut, then he dialed. 

"Jack," he said when the phone was answered. 

"Daniel" 

"You heard." 

"Yep." 

"And?" 

"And I won't let them hurt you." 

Daniel looked into the phone in disbelief. 

"That's nice, but I was kind of hoping for, 'I won't let those damn scientists near you Daniel!'" 

"The orders are official, my hands are tied," Jack's voice was leveled and calm, which was a testament to how truly pissed-off he was. 

"How is kidnapping a civilian and forcing medical experimentation on him in anyway legal?"

"They pulled the psych card," said Jack, "72 hour hold."

"They claim I'm a danger to myself and others, and that gives them a legal reason to come and take me away?"

"Pretty much, officially you're being evaluated on your mental and physical well-being when it comes to the abilities you've gained. If they're satisfied, they'll let you go."

"Ri-ight, and unofficially?"

"If they catch you they keep you."

"Well, that's too bad, because you know what that means don't you?" 

There was a long sigh and a pause on the other end of the phone. 

"Daniel, don't do anything stupid." 

"Stupid!" Daniel cried, "Stupid! Jack these are the people that want to cut my skull open, and take a melon scoop to my brain! These are the people that want to drain out all my blood and plasma and study the cells! There are people who have been waiting years to cut me open and dissect me! Tell me Jack what is a stupid thing to do in the case of being dissected?" 

"Daniel..." 

"No, seriously I want to know, because I'm just curious if this is a scenario you actually have a tactical assessment for, come on Jack isn't that you expertise? Tactical planning?" Daniel stopped for breath. 

"Daniel?" Jack's concern radiated from the receiver. 

"What?" Daniel's anger evaporated as quickly as it boiled. 

"Can you get here?" 

"Where's here?" 

"To DC, to me." 

Daniel frowned, and glanced at the door, "Probably, why?" 

"Without blowing the place up? Without anyone looking for you here?" 

Daniel smiled, at least Jack remembered that there was little anyone could do to keep Daniel where he didn't want to be especially now. "Probably," he said formulating a plan.

* * *

Okay, everyone close your eyes and imagine Daniel's scheming smile. collective and world shaking awww :-D

Later, Cynic 


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Sam sat at a terminal in the control room, she wasn't happy with what she had to do, but at the same time she knew that it was for the best. She'd only just realized how much she had to make up for in her relationship with Daniel when the man himself had called and asked her to meet in his base quarters. The plan was suitably Daniel-like with everyone following one path while he was driving the other way, what she didn't like was that he was going alone, even though she knew that it had to be that way. Everyone on the team had a part to play, and one traveling alone drew less attention than a group of five which is what they all really wanted to do.

Sam finished her work at the computer and headed out. Mitchell fell into step with her a few minutes later with a grim look on his face.

"I don't like this," he said.

"Neither do I," said Sam, "But it has to be done, Daniel could have hurt someone in the infirmary, he doesn't have control, maybe the doctors that are coming can help him."

"I don't think they're interested in helping him Sam."

"I can't answer to that, all I know is he's dangerous, this isn't some comic book where the hero never hurts anyone with his powers; he set fire to the whole room in his sleep!"

"Vala was there, she wasn't hurt."

"She was holding him at the time. Some of the techs suffered some nasty burns, because they tried to help her!" Sam shook her head as they stopped at the elevator, "He wanted me to help him escape."

Mitchell nodded, "Me too, I take it you said no."

"I can't help release him into the public; he could lose control, and hurt someone," Sam swallowed the lump in her throat as she drew up the next line of her script,"I told the General he's placed extra security on the top-side tunnels."

"I don't understand Sam, he's your friend."

Sam shook her head, "he was my friend,"

"And now?" asked Mitchell sadly.

"Now I don't know what he is," Sam fought to control the mask she wore, and stepped on the waiting elevator, "I'm sorry," she said as the door closed.

Mitchell made sure to look totally shocked for a few seconds before turning and jogging up the stairs. The plan was in motion, and now it was his turn. On the second landing he stopped and checked his watch, by his calculations the IOA 'Doctors' should be at the first check point. Which meant…5…4…3…2…the alarms started blaring and red lights were flashing all over the place, Mitchell hopped up the last staircase and out into the corridor, he rushed to the weapons locker located down the hall, but as he approached the door he was suddenly knocked back by an invisible force, he would have hit the wall extremely hard, but he was cushioned before impact. Mitchell was very thankful for that but made sure to sprawl convincingly as he was let down to the floor. A soft kiss on his cheek told him that phase three was now in effect.

Vala looked up from Mitchell and winked at Daniel; they were both wearing Sodan cloaking-devices and now it was time to split up. Daniel gave Vala a sad smile, before turning and jogging down the corridor toward the roof access. Vala sighed and stood up, she turned and walked towards the stairwell that Mitchell had left the door open to and headed down.

Sam who had heard the alarm and hit the down button on the elevator quickly checked in at the control room.

"What's going on?" she asked Walter who was at his usual post typing flipping switches.

"I'm not sure Ma'am," he said reaching across his desk to hit another button, "the alarms were set off in an armory on Level 19, there's a security detail on the way, we're waiting to hear what happened."

Suddenly the gate began to dial.

"What's happening?" asked Sam, "Is it an incoming wormhole?" she stepped forward to look at the monitors.

"No," said Walter frowning, "it's outgoing, but I don't understand, it's dialing itself." Walter began typing furiously, pulling up diagnostic screens one after the other.

Sam went to another terminal and did the same thing.

"I'm locked out, I can't stop it." said Walter.

"Me too," said Sam stepping back, "Can you close the iris?"

Walter slapped his palmed down on the iris control, but nothing happen,"Chevron four," said Walter quietly, "We can't stop it, who would do this? They can't get through without being shot up by twenty guards in the gate-room," he looked back at the spinning gate, "Chevron five."

The phone rang. Walter picked it up, "It's for you," he said to Sam, "it's Colonel Mitchell."

Sam took the receiver, "Carter, well what's missing? My god! I'll let them know, find Teal'c, he was supposed to be on guard," she hung up, and saw Walter looking at her expectantly, "the breach on 19 was the armory containing the Sodan cloaking devices, Colonel Mitchell says he was thrown back by an invisible force, there's one cloak missing."

Walter stared at her in disbelief, and all he could manage to say was, "Chevron Seven locked."

The Stargate exploded to life and all the armed men in the gate-room came to attention, so focused were they on the event horizon that none of them had noted that the blast door on the right side of the room was open a crack, just enough room for someone to slide in. The event horizon suddenly rippled from an impact and the gate shut itself down.

Walter was still at a loss to explain what had just happened when Sam slid down into a seat beside him her hand covering her mouth in shock.

"He's gone," she whispered her eyes glistened with tears that she would not shed.

Walter looked back at the gate and understood.

* * *

I'm in mourning, my external HD crashed and I lost all my back-up and archived media files. :(, but I did have my most recent draft of this story and I thought that posting would make me feel better.

Let's find out,

Cynic


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-one

Hank surveyed his briefing room from inside his office; through the window, he could see Teal c sitting calmly on the left side of the table his back to the gate, Mitchell sat next to him to the right. An ice pack melted on the table between them, Hank wasn t sure whose it was, apparently their absent teammate had done quite a number on both men.

Hank didn t believe a word of it.

Daniel Jackson, with all his powers, could have left the base at any time, without the aid of an invisibility cloak. Hank had to admit though the plausible deniability was nice, he could make the assumption he was meant to, and send teams to the address that Jackson had supposedly fled, except that address hadn't been recorded. Somehow, the computers had hiccuped that destination from the system, a random error, Walter had told him with an ironic smile on his face, though Hank wasn't sure if the Master Chief knew that Jackson hadn't gone through or if he really thought, he was protecting him. More likely though, thought Hank, was the young man was protecting someone closer to home by not employing his impeccable computer skills to the problem.

Hank saw Samantha Carter in the next room, she held a coffee cup high to her chin, but didn't drink from it, she watched the gate and seemed to be deciding something as she suddenly turned and sat down on the other side of the table where Vala was suspiciously missing. No one had seen or heard from the notorious thief in several hours, and since there were, two Sodan cloaks missing it had been assumed she d helped Jackson to escape and gone with him.

Hank wasn't convinced of this particular Romeo and Juliet story, he figured that Vala had been the one to send something through in the gate room, but he wasn't entirely sold on the idea that the two would run away together, not with the dangers they faced as a consequence of Jackson s power. Hank knew two things about the SGC s most prominent civilian, one he was the smartest person he d ever had the privilege to be baffled by, and two, Daniel Jackson would not risk the lives of anyone he cared about, if he could risk his own in their stead. Hank took a deep breath and a long swig of coffee and prepared himself for the life saving lies he would have to swallow.

* * *

Daniel sat on Jack s desk and swung his legs, being invisible was fun! It was a whole lot more fun than that time he d been out of phase, the fear of being dead and not being able to touch anything kind of put a damper on it. Now, he knew he was alive, he knew he could become visible whenever he wanted and he was enjoying himself immensely. Daniel was having so much fun running around the most classified areas of the Pentagon, that if it weren't for the people scrambling around making plans about what to do when they found him off-world he d have had the time of his life. As it was Daniel was kind of bored, he d been waiting for Jack to return from his meeting, a meeting that was probably about him, but which Daniel couldn't conjure up the capacity to care for an update on all the stuff he d already witnessed, these people were sick with contingency plans and quite a few of them were not at all nice, let alone survivable.

* * *

Jack came out of his late meeting tired, a little confused and a lot angry. First off he d asked Daniel meet him here in DC, so why did most, if not all, of the governing body of the SGC believe that Daniel Jackson had left the planet wearing a Sodan cloaking device, and in the company of Vala no less? Second, when did this become a debate of how to eliminate Daniel as a threat, not just to National Security, but the planet as a whole? Daniel Jackson wouldn't harm the hair on a fly s head! Well, not unless he knew that the fly was going to kamikaze down someone s throat with the sole intent to kill in cold blood!

Jack had said as much in the briefing and been shot down with a dread cliche , power corrupts and Daniel Jackson was now one of the most powerful human beings the SGC had ever encountered, and that for those people was an extremely scary thought. Jack wasn't scared a bit, Daniel might have super-duper powers now, but he was still Daniel, and the fly s hair was still safe, until it tried to hurt an innocent and then every cuticle was fair game as far as Jack was concerned. That left only one question; where the hell was Daniel?

Jack stepped into his office, and stopped. A paperweight, a model of a biplane, which normally rested on his desk, was now flying a slow circuit around his office. Jack cleared his throat and the plane did a neat loop-de-loop and glided to rest on Jack s blotter. Jack rounded his desk and saw a note scrawled there. It read, Hi Jack, let s take a walk.

* * *

Jack unlocked the front door to his house, he was loaded down with a huge amount of take-out food and he almost didn't make it, but as he stepped over the threshold the bags were steadied and one was taken up by an invisible force. Jack kicked the door shut and noted that the bolt slid home of its own accord. The food was unceremoniously dumped on the kitchen table and Jack took a deep breath.

"Okay, Daniel show and tell time."

Daniel materialized in front of the table grinning like a fiend. Jack stood in the doorway stock still at the scene. What? Daniel asked when he noticed Jacks expression.

"You're not wearing the Sodan cloak," said Jack.

"I left it at the SGC," said Daniel with a shrug, "I only needed it for the initial encounter with Mitchell. The rest of the time, I just use my abilities."

"You can turn invisible!" cried Jack.

"Of course not," Daniel rolled his eyes, "but I can influence a person's perceptions. Sam and I had a chat. I was a little out of it when I got out of the infirmary this last time, and she ended up picking up some stuff from me."

"Stuff? What does that mean?"

"I was kind of preoccupied by the flashback, and when I saw Sam in the infirmary, I guess I accidentally projected some of what had happened on the Ori ship."

"Oh," said Jack sarcastically, "you mean the whole, being burned alive thing? That kind of 'stuff'?"

Daniel rolled his eyes but otherwise ignore Jack s interjection, "So, anyway, what Sam saw kind of freaked her out, she hid herself in her lab for a couple of hours before coming to find me, Daniel smiled faintly, "I think she s back to being my friend again."

"She wasn't before?" Jack frowned.

"No, but that's beside the point, we theorized that because of my emotional state I'd lost a little of my control over my mental powers and while I was working so hard to block everyone's thoughts, I accidentally transmitted some of mine instead, I'm just glad Sam's the only one who picked up anything."

"What does that have to do with you being able to be invisible?

"I can transmit a thought pattern that alters people's perceptions of me," Jack s frown deepened, "They see what I want them to see or not see as the case maybe."

"And you were just doing that to me?" asked Jack, "Even though I knew you were there, you could control whether or not I actually saw you?"

"Pretty much," Daniel shrugged.

"But what about the security tapes?" asked Jack, "At the SGC, there s no footage of you actually leaving base, and not even you can effect the perceptions of a machine."

"No," said Daniel as he prepared to make coffee, "I just avoided the cameras."

"You can't avoid the cameras there are several in every room and every corridor and service shaft."

"Okay, so there may have been a bug in the system that slowed the roving arc of the cameras, and a minute adjustment in the angles that allowed for several strategic blind spots in coverage." Daniel smirked as the coffee began drip into the carafe.

"Was that your idea or Carter's? asked Jack finally moving from the hallway and into the kitchen area, he stripped off his jacket, hung it on the back of a chair, and loosened his tie.

"Little of both," said Daniel, "I may have asked some probing questions, but Sam masterminded the whole thing in the control room."

Jack accepted a cup of coffee from Daniel and they sat at the table with the food. Jack began to eat, but then he noticed he was alone in that.

"What?" he asked swallowing his mouthful and reaching for his coffee, aren t you eating.

"I ate while I was waiting for you."

"Didn't I get a report that said you had to eat a lot?"

"Only when I use my powers excessively," said Daniel evasively.

"And?"

"And I use a lot of energy when I use my powers, most especially ones involving the mind."

Jack just waited.

"You've heard of a high metabolism?" asked Daniel leaning back, "Well I have super metabolism. My body needs more nutrients to supplement what is expended when I use my powers."

"Is that why you ended up in a coma when you fried that critter on the cargo ship?"

"I didn't do that on purpose, I was unconscious at the time," said Daniel uncomfortably.

"You've got a hell of a defense mechanism there Daniel."

"I have control now," said Daniel, "and the only reason Nacres was even scorched is because he didn't have the best of intentions when he grabbed my ankles and started to drag me away."

"I thought you didn't remember."

"I don't, but Sam managed to get into Nacre s files, from what I translated he was a trader."

"A trader of what?"

"Anything that would make a profit, drugs, weapons, food, people."

"People?"

Daniel grimaced, "He was essentially a slaver, Jack, so I have no qualms about his untimely end."

"Aren't you afraid it'll happened again? That someone not so deserving will get hurt?"

"I might have been, if it weren't for the flashback and Vala."

"Vala?"

"Vala wasn't hurt by the flames when she was holding me, even when I wasn't in control, I still couldn't hurt someone who meant me no harm."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Hold out your hand."

Jack frowned, "Why?"

Daniel rolled his eyes out exasperated and put out his hand, "Hold out your hand!"

Jack knew it was a test, even if Daniel didn't realize that's what it was, he knew his friend would be disappointed if he didn't trust him at least that much.

Jack held out his hand.

Daniel reached out and grabbed Jack's wrist, and in a blink Daniel s entire arm was in flames, Jack panicked and tried to pull away, but Daniel held him fast, he stared into Jack s eyes willing him to calm down, to trust.

Jack stopped struggling and he soon realized he wasn't burning he wasn't even hot! He looked up at Daniel who was just looking at him at him an almost-smile playing on his lips, just for a second and then it was gone along with the flames, and Daniel let go.

The two men sat there in silence for a long minute, Jack picked at his food, while Daniel contemplated his coffee but didn't drink. Jack took a minute to examine his friend up close. Daniel had lost weight, he always lost if from his face first, his cheeks pulled taut over sharp cheekbones, and the darkness clouding beneath his eyes, betrayed the earlier claims of full nights sleep. Daniel was a worrier, despite the show, Jack could tell his friend feared losing the control he'd fought so hard to prove he had, the battle had left him frayed at the edges, lack of sleep and not being able to pour food down his throat fast enough would wear on anyone, but Daniel would bear it, he would bear it until it killed him, and before it could kill anyone else.

* * *

I know it's been awhile but I felt the sudden urge to see the this story to the end. Thanks Cynic


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

"What is it?" asked Jack, and he cleared away his dishes. Daniel had looked up suddenly from his quiet brood.

"Could you go and let Vala in, she's really distracting me with all her thoughts about, what we're doing in here to be so quiet," Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Vala? She's here?" asked Jack surprised.

"She must have sneaked off base after I did using the Sodan cloaking device. She's outside the door, and has been for about an hour." Daniel shrugged as Jack pulled out a carton of ice cream and spooned some into a bowl.

"Why didn't you say anything?" cried Jack going to the door, "Landry's been going spare, he was having doubts you two hadn't run off together!"

"What?" Daniel cried, his mouth dropped open, he closed it abruptly and threw the door open without moving from the table, "Vala get in here!"

Vala fell through the open doorway a shocked look on her face. "Daniel!" she cried picking herself up off the floor and walking into the apartment. "Nice place, Jack!" she said grinning at him recovering her composure quickly.

"What are you doing here Vala? This wasn't part of the plan," said Daniel.

"It wasn't part of your plan," said Vala, "but it was always part of mine, you didn't think we'd let you go haring off to god knows where alone did you?" Vala stood with her hands on her hips glaring at Daniel.

"He's not alone!" said Jack affronted.

"Of course not," said Vala, "he's got me."

Jack was turning an interesting shade of puce, while Daniel tried without success to stop from laughing, but then he suddenly calmed.

"You can't go with me Vala," he said.

"You can't stop me Daniel," Daniel just smiled and sat back in his chair, Vala scowled at him, "Okay, so you can stop me, but you shouldn't, you need me with you. You can't do this alone Daniel."

"I have to do this alone, I can't risk anyone else."

Jack looked from Daniel to Vala and back again, frowned and scratched his head. "Excuse me?" he raised his hand up between the two of them, "can one of you tell me what page of the script we're on, because I seemed to have lost the page where one of you tells me what the hell you're talking about!"

"We're talking about Daniel's plan," said Vala, frowning, "it's the reason we helped him escape."

"I must have missed a memo because here I was thinking that Daniel's plan was to hide in plain sight in a safe-house here in DC while we get this mess sorted out with the IOA."

"No," said Vala, glaring at Daniel, "This is the plan where Daniel goes off on his own private crusade to kill my daughter!"

"It's not that simple and you know it!" cried Daniel.

"Daniel, when were you going to let me in on this little side trip you were planning?" asked Jack.

"Probably, when I you read the note I was going to leave,"

"So never?" said Jack, joining Vala in glaring.

"Pretty much," Daniel nodded.

"So what is 'The Plan' Daniel?" asked Jack stepping forward leaning down on the kitchen table.

Daniel stood up and started clearing the table of the food bags, he spoke to Jack without looking up, "I go find Adria either, convince her to change sides, take her armies back home or…"

"Or kill her," said Vala.

"Or that," said Daniel turning away to throw the trash in the can.

"Well that's a bad plan," said Jack loudly.

Daniel sighed he didn't turn around. "Of course it's a bad plan," said Daniel, "It's one of mine after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Jack.

"Well, let's see, if Sam said she had the great idea that would convince Adria that all the Ori were dead, and convince her armies once and for all that they weren't gods, what would you do?" Daniel barely paused as Jack just frowned at him, "You'd sit down and listen wouldn't you?" he said motioning them all back to the table, "You'd let her get in at least fifteen seconds of techno-babble before trusting her and telling her to go do what she wanted." Jack nodded reluctantly, "But I say I can do that same thing, but you won't even listen, you didn't even ask me how I expected to do that, or even how I expected to find Adria among that fleet of Ori ships! You don't trust me," Daniel shook his head sadly, "even now I can see it in your face, in your thoughts, you've never trusted me, not now, not aboard the Odyssey, not ever!"

"That's not true Daniel, I gave the order!"

"You took your sweet time debating it! You wouldn't even hear me out on the Odyssey!"

"I know!" said Jack, "What possessed you to think I'd go along with Merlin's harebrained plan anyway?"

"What choice did I have?" Daniel cried, "I was alone, and in pain, and I finally realized that my team, my family," he spat the word bitterly, "was not going to come to find me, would not be riding to the rescue for me and the only way to escape with my mind intact was to go along with Merlin and humor Adria and maybe, just maybe I could find a way to…to," The kitchen lights flickered on and off and all the cupboards doors started to vibrate. Daniel stood with his eyes closed taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself.

"You wanted to die," said Vala, quietly. Both men had forgotten she was even in the room, but all eyes were on her now. "You couldn't live with what you had done, with who you had become to survive and you wanted to find a way to die, to find peace," Vala gave Daniel a look of total understanding, "I've been there, but you can't let it win, Daniel, you can't just sacrifice yourself to the darkness you've spent your whole life fighting against. That's not who you are, you never take the easy path."

Daniel lowered himself to a chair at the table, he kept his head bowed, "I did chose the darkness," he said quietly, "I chose to follow Merlin and allow Adria to think she'd converted me, it was so easy," he smiled faintly, "She's so arrogant that she thought that I really believed, that I could really believe even after she'd forced herself into my head so many times. I could have continued to resist, I wouldn't have broken it would have destroyed me first."

"I know," said Jack taking a chair opposite Daniel, "but you couldn't let her destroy the knowledge, you knew that you had to hold on long enough to give us the way to defeat the Ori."

"You're wrong," said Vala, sitting on the other side of the table, "it was the knowledge, you couldn't let go to waste."

"You're both right," said Daniel, "and you're both wrong, I couldn't break because I could never believe, and I couldn't let go, because I couldn't be sure it would end there."

"I don't understand," said Vala.

"Jack does," said Daniel, "and so do you, if you think about it."

"Sarcophagus," said Jack.

"Yeah," said Daniel, "she was in my head, she knew about my past."

"What past?" asked Vala, "The Sarcophagus? I hate those things, they always made me fuzzy and fall back, and I always tried to stop Quetesh from going in it."

"Adria had the power to simply bring me back to life, but she knew what it did to me, when she put me into that thing." Daniel shuddered at the memory, and Jack winced in sympathy.

"I know she hurt you Daniel, and you want revenge," said Vala, "but that's not a good enough reason to go running off and getting yourself killed."

"I don't want revenge against Adria," said Daniel, "I don't hate her, she is what she is," he shrugged and his face clouded, "I know that path, the path of hatred and I won't let myself go down that road again."

"Shifu?" asked Jack understanding.

Daniel nodded and then tried to stifle a yawn.

"Okay," said Jack, getting up slowly, "It's time for all good telekinetic archeologists to get some rest.

Daniel sighed, he was exhausted. "I guess being invisible is more tiring than I thought." He stood up, and this time he didn't stifle the yawn. Vala got up to follow him, but Daniel merely shot out his arm pointing to the living area, "Couch," he said, Vala scowled and pouted, but Daniel didn't turn around he just walked into the spare bedroom and shut the door.

"Here," said Jack, he dumped extra blankets and pillows on his large couch.

"Don't you have a bed?" asked Vala pouting.

"I do, it's a California King and it's very comfortable, it's also the only thing I can sleep on these days that won't have me walking like a question mark for the rest of the day."

"Oh," she drifted down and sat by the bedding, "I don't understand what just happened."

"Daniel is tired, it took a lot out of him to get here, and staying in control is a struggle when you're body is shutting down."

"But we just spent the last hour arguing with him, and he just walked away like nothing happened."

"You're new to the Daniel Jackson friendship experience, so I don't expect you to get this right away, but this is an argument that we're been having for the last ten years."

"What's that?"

"Daniel Jackson is not personally responsible for all the badness that's happened to the galaxy since he opened the Stargate."

"That's absurd, of course he's not to blame!" cried Vala.

"Just try telling that to Daniel, and not just tell him, have him believe it," Understanding dawned on Vala's face, "You're starting to get it, Good Night Vala," said Jack, and he started back towards his bedroom.

"You're going to sleep? What if he gets it into his head to steal the Alkesh while we're asleep?"

"I won't let him," said Jack.

"How do you stop a man who can think himself invisible?" asked Vala.

"You argue him to point of exhaustion and activate his over-developed sense conscience," said Jack.

Vala broke out a smile, "You're good," she said.

"Good Night Vala," said Jack a small smile crept up on his lips as he opened his bedroom door.

"Good Night Jack," called Vala as the bedroom door clicked shut.

* * *

I actually had a lot more already written than I thought, and my new wind seems to be blowing me quite a ways. Hopefully it will keep up and we can find a satisfying end to this tale. Thanks Cynic


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Teal'c pulled in a slow lungful of incense sweeten air and opened his eyes. His vision wavered in the haze of the many candles, flickering around the room. Teal'c blew out the candle in front of him, the one he'd been using to try and focus. He'd failed. He simply didn't have the mental calm he needed to achieve a true Kelnoreem. Teal'c looked around the room that had been the residence of Daniel Jackson for so long. He had hoped that being here would bring him closer to his friend, but all it brought him was sadness.

The room was barren; it contained little of the history and character of the man who had lived there. In fact apart from a few books, folders and the coffee maker a person could be forgiven for thinking that this room was vacant. Daniel Jackson had existed, in the barest sense of the word for years, and what was worse was his friends hadn't even noticed.

Teal'c took another deep breath and made a decision. It was something he thought that O'Neill would have done had he been there, but since he was not it was up to Teal'c to fill the role of protector of Daniel Jackson from Daniel Jackson. Teal'c fully expected his friend to return to them whole after the latest run in with the powers that be, and he would return to find he had a home once more. Teal'c stood up and blew out his candles and incense. He would consult Samantha Carter, on how to evict these students from Daniel Jackson's house.

* * *

Daniel woke up slowly, having slept deeper than he ever remembered. Staying at Jack's so long had drained him, more than he could have imagined, he wondered if the man even knew he'd been hanging out with an astral projection all this time. He sat up and rooted around in his pack for an energy bar, he swallowed it and checked his watch.

"Ah crap," he muttered and lay back down.

Daniel woke up again in Jack's spare room with the unmistakable feeling of being watched. "Jack," he groaned, without looking up, he'd recognized the images of thoughts that inevitably came from his friend.

"You were wrong," Jack said, from where he stood at the door, "Last night when you told me I trusted Carter more than you."

"I was?" Daniel turned over on the bed and looked at Jack, "How so?"

"Carter has the science to back her up, but mostly her plans, insane and risky as they might be, usually include the team, she doesn't lone-gun it, especially when the planet is on the line. You," Jack snorted to himself, "You scare the crap out of me! You're brilliant and brave and scary, and selfless and stubborn and pigheaded and arrogant. You constantly undermine my command and you are constantly putting yourself between us and potential enemies. It took me years to figure you out, to understand why you are the way you are."

"And what did you figure out?" Daniel sat up in bed.

"I figured out that, because you're so brilliant and selfless, you can see all the wonders around us. You would do anything to protect them, and when you can't, you blame yourself. I don't know what it says about you that you believe that it's your lot in life to protect all things at the cost of your own life," Jack held up a hand to halt Daniel protests.

"You don't see yourself _in_ the world Daniel, just as an observer and protector and that scares me, because you can't see that the people you love, love you back and are so utterly devastated when you die on one of your crusades.

"Not many people get the chances that you have to live again, and equally they also don't get all the shit you've been through to do it. I know you're tired, I know you're sick of one thing or another coming along to smack you while you're down, but you have to keep fighting Daniel, you have to live," Jack took a deep breath, slightly embarrassed by his revelations, but stubbornly determined to make his point.

"I'm going to make coffee," he said, "and then we're going to sit down and discuss your plan to save the galaxy, again. But I want you to think about something first, I'm paraphrasing a very smart man I met a long time ago, and I think it applies here now, you see 'I don't want to die, and your friends they don't want to die, moreover they don't want **you** to die, it's a shame you're in such a hurry to,'" Jack didn't give Daniel the chance to respond he just turned around and left the room shutting the door behind him.

* * *

Vala listened to Jack in the other room, and wondered if she'd ever have anyone who could know her so well, and not be afraid to be so brutally honest with her. Of course it was difficult to find such people because she was so often less than honest about her personal history and motivations. Come to think of it, she thought, as she walked down the hall to the bathroom, Daniel might be the person who'd come closest to knowing her story in it's entirety, the problem was that Daniel had been more successful in hiding himself from her. That direction of inequality, threw her, and made her think about what Mitchell had said how she'd taken up the history stuff to try to relate to Daniel better, being a flagrant flirt hadn't worked, and changing to fit a persona wasn't new to Vala she was a con artist after all, but the fact that she hadn't realize how hard she was working at being Daniel's friend left her unbalanced and she didn't like that feeling one bit.

* * *

"It's a device," said Daniel sitting down at the table in the kitchen.

"Of course it is," said Jack serving up scrambled eggs, and bacon as Vala sat down next to Daniel, "Isn't it always a device?"

"Do you want to hear this or not?" asked Daniel.

"Sorry," said Jack, "Please continue."

"Merlin left the knowledge in my mind, but I had to dig through everything else to find it."

"That's why you went nuts with all those reports?"

"No," said Daniel, "as least not consciously, I think the knowledge was trying to find its way through but it kept dislodging other things with it."

"So what is it?" asked Vala digging into her breakfast.

"It's something the Alterans built but ultimately chose not to use."

"And this device does what? Kills all the Ori?"

"No," Daniel frowned, "The Ori are dead, Jack. Merlin's weapon worked. There are only two things left that we need to sort out to free the galaxy from their threat."

"Adria is one," said Vala.

"The army is the other," said Daniel.

"Oh, is that all?" said Jack rolling his eyes, "Just an army of religious zealots, and their demigod General?"

"Just bare with me a minute, who controls the army?" asked Daniel.

"Adria," said Jack.

"And?"

"And the Priors." said Vala.

"Exactly!" said Daniel smiling excitedly, "The device will render them inert."

"How pray tell will it do that?" asked Jack.

"It's sort of a similar deal to Merlin's device; in fact, he'd worked on this one too, with another Altearan."

"Altearan?" asked Jack.

"Ancient, before they were old." said Vala.

"Oh," said Jack looking back at Daniel who was frowning at them. "Continue."

"Anyway, when the Ancients realized they were dying out and they had to either die or ascend they had the choice, to use their ascended powers to shape the galaxy or let it develop naturally, after the device on Dakarra started the protein chains that would result in life."

"Daniel," Jack warned.

"Jack," Daniel warned back, and then he sighed, "You have to understand this to understand the device, now, the Ancients knew what the Ori were and theorized that if they followed parallel evolutionary paths they could meet up on the ascended plain, and also if they could remake a galaxy of life then so could the Ori.

"The Ancients knew that the Ori would use their powers to influence any successive race of beings in their galaxy, and while they disagreed with this use of power they ultimately decided to do nothing."

"That's a shock," said Jack. Daniel continued without acknowledging him.

"The only thing they did was block our galaxy from their view, it seems that Ancient ascended knowledge is more comprehensive, which allowed them to limit the powers and the effected area of the Ori."

"So?" said Jack.

"So the Ancients aren't the ones that did that, it was this device. They only turned it to a low setting that masked our area from their perception. It's like taking a digital photograph and deleting a few hundred pixels out of the thousands that it's made of. You just don't notice that small of a gap."

"After all, the universe in infinite," said Vala. Daniel smiled at her.

"Exactly, and when we used the Ancient communication device what we essentially did was point out the empty spaces."

"What does this have to do with dealing with Adria and the Priors?"

"The device blocks ascended powers, it cuts off the flow of energy from the ascended plain and our own, it will render the Priors inert, powerless," said Daniel quickly losing picking up steam, "I know where to find it, I'm going to secure and bring it to safety, you have to give the others the key and meet me." He reached out to pick up a pad and paper that were lay on the counter, but his hand passed right through them. Jack stood up in shock.

"Daniel!" he cried, Daniel looked at him with fear on his face.

"I'm running out of time," he said, "give the key to Vala she can take it to Sam and Mitchell, take the ship, I'll be in touch," as he spoke his image faded in and out.

"Daniel where's the key?" asked Jack as Daniel was nearly gone.

"Check your mail," he called and vanished completely.

* * *

Mitchell couldn't believe his eyes, he was being reassigned! He was being reassigned to Area 51! What was truly unbelievable was he was being reassigned, to Area 51, in an E-mail! He would have stormed up to the General's office demanding to know what the hell was going on, but for the second E-mail in his in-box.

Colonel,

Orders are final, report to the letter, nothing I can do.

Landry

Mitchell was still ready to throw a gasket when Sam walked in a print out in her hand

"I'm being transferred!" she cried, "They couldn't even tell me in person they sent me an e-mail! An E-mail! I mean, how cold can you get?" She was shaking the print-out at him, "I tried to get in to see the General but he's incommunicado, he has to know about this," then she saw his face and saw his e-mail account open on screen. "You too?" she asked.

"I've been honored with the duty of test flying the new X309 light aircraft prototypes." he said pulling up the memo, "and Landry does know, he said there's nothing he can do."

"What about General O'Neill?"

"The orders came from the Pentagon, he's been cc'd on everything, he knows," Mitchell shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand I thought getting you guys back together was what he wanted."

Teal'c came in his face grave, "I have been recalled to the High Council, Bra'tac requests it personally."

"What does he want?" asked Sam.

"It is a matter of extreme urgency and discretion, he could not divulge much in the communiqué." Teal'c frowned at his two teammates, "I am concerned."

"So are we," said Mitchell, "we've both been transferred to Area 51, effective immediately."

"But what of Daniel Jackson?" asked Teal'c.

"He's gone," said Sam shortly, aware of the possibility of surveillance, and knowing full well she'd been cast as the traitor in this drama, "the other SG teams are going out after him."

"I guess the IOA doesn't want us in the way when they send out the death squads," said Mitchell.

"I don't know why," said Sam, "it's not as if we can do anything for him, we don't even know where he went!"

"This is most troubling," Teal'c's frown deepened, "Does O'Neill know?"

"We were just discussing it," said Sam happy to move past Daniel, who was meant to be safe somewhere, and on to more pressing matters.

"He's been kept in the loop, but he's not doing anything about it," said Mitchell.

"Then as always we must trust his judgment," said Teal'c cryptically, "I will be departing for the High Council in one hour, I will see you before that."

"Of course, we'll see you off Teal'c, hopefully we'll have this sorted out by the time you get back," said Sam.

"I have no doubt," said Teal'c, he bowed slightly and left.

"Me thinks that Jaffa doth not protest enough," said Mitchell.

"You're right," said Sam, "even for Teal'c that was an under reaction, maybe General O'Neill has a plan for us outside the base."

"I hope so," said Mitchell.

* * *

Fun times were had by all. :D Cynic


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Jack answered the door, the messenger handed him an electronic pad to sign took it back and handed him a package. Jack thanked him and closed the door. He tore open the package, inside was a strange looking key and a military ID with Vala's picture on it.

"He knows me too well," said Vala looking at the ID with a grin.

* * *

Daniel opened his eyes but couldn't move himself he was exhausted.

"You're working too hard," said Janet, now lay beside him.

"Why are you here?" asked Daniel only a little startled.

"You know why if you think about it, you'll understand."

"You're dead," said Daniel.

"Yep."

"But you're not a ghost."

"No."

"I know that you're not ascended."

"That's interesting, but you're right I'm not ascended."

"Oh my head!" cried Daniel rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair. "You're me." He groaned.

"Oh no, I'm Janet Frasier, I'm the part of her that you hold onto in your mind from all your memories of her. I'm also a projection from your subconscious. Sometimes you're not listening to your head enough, now that you have more brain power, you brain has the power to make you listen."

"So you're here with a message from my brain?" Daniel stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm just here as an intermediary, I'm only telling you what you already know, but don't want to acknowledge, it's exactly what Janet would have done if she were here."

"Why her? Why did my own mind have to torture me with Janet's image?"

"Because you would have rejected anyone else, and so would the others."

"Others?" Daniel's face blanched. "You've been seen by other people?"

"You have the ability to make people see and hear whatever you want. I've been doing some emotional clean up. You know your friends aren't half as over you and you think they are."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you matter to them, as more than the guy who has all the super powers to defeat the Ori. You'd know that if you weren't actively blocking your telepathy, at least from your conscious mind."

"I couldn't handle it all. Thoughts, images, sensations, memories, ideas, and fantasies, all flicking through at once, you can't process it, it's too much."

"Maybe you can't," said Janet looking a little smug.

Daniel blinked, he lay back and thought for a moment.

"It won't work you know," said Janet.

"What won't?"

"This harebrained scheme of yours."

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about this, Daniel, I am you I know what you know. You know this won't work. You should go with the plan you told the others about."

"That's won't work, it's too risky."

"Yes, it will, it has a much better chance of success than the kamikaze run you're planning."

"I'm so tired," Daniel sighed squeezing his eyes shut.

"Yes, I know sweetie, when you and SG-1 have saved the galaxy again you should go on that vacation you've been dreaming about for two years."

Daniel looked up to say something, but Janet was gone.

* * *

Sam and Mitchell flew out to Nevada together, Sam was there apparently to retake control over R&D and Mitchell was to be the first to pilot the new X309 prototype stealth fighters, the first small sized spacecraft to integrate some of the Asgard technology into their systems including shields and a cloak.

"What are you going to do when we land?" asked Mitchell.

"I'm going to get stuck into work nothing else to do is there? I had a few projects I was working on at the SGC shipped with us, I'm going to do a quick inventory and get to it," said Sam.

"Aren't you the least bit upset about how this all played out?" asked Mitchell.

"I'm a soldier Cam, I follow orders these are my orders which I intend to follow to the letter," Sam told him through gritted teeth.

* * *

A week later, the whole base was in an uproar apparently some highly placed Pentagon official was being sent to do a spot inspection. Sam saw the names on the inspection memo and immediately called Mitchell in the hangar bay.

"Two weeks!" cried Jack, and clearly not for the first time. "Two weeks to maneuver and politic a visit to one of the two places I've got immediately under my command. Who do they think they are?"

"I think one of them was the President," said Vala, sitting across from Jack in the limo.

"Yeah, well…" said Jack pouting, "I'm still pissed, this plan had better work."

"I have faith in Daniel. He'll be there for us when the time comes."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," said Jack.

The limo pulled to a stop and the driver announced their arrival. Jack and Vala climbed out into the heat of the Nevada afternoon. Jack spotted the junior politician sweating in the corner by the entrance to the building.

"General O'Neill it's an honor to meet you and…"

"Valerie," said Vala stepping forward to shake his hand, "Valerie Doran, I'm the General's aid."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Steven Olson I'm the pentagon liaison with Area 51."

"No one cares Steve," said Vala.

"Valerie, be nice," said Jack.

"Colonel Carter will be down directly she's volunteered to give you the tour," said Steve giving Vala his best plastic smile.

"I'll bet she did," said Jack.

* * *

Daniel piled up a tray in the cafeteria and moved over to one corner. He projected the impression of a terrible smell in that area and a table cleared immediately. Daniel smiled to himself, if it weren't for the splitting headaches and constant hunger pains, having these super powers might be kind of fun. Of course it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't using the powers constantly, so he wasn't recognized on the base. He congratulated himself once again on how easy it had been to slip into the new Gamma Site; he'd simply followed the supply team through. The cameras in the gate-room saw him, but the distance was too far for them unless they zoomed on each person's face.

Once through, he took a leaf out one Teal'c's sci-fi character's books and figured out how to shift a person's perceptions just slightly, so that rather than having to project a new face to each person Daniel could project the impression that he wasn't really there or that he wasn't really noticeable. Of course, if anyone was really paying attention to the base security cameras he was screwed, but he'd managed to shift their roving arcs so he at least had some privacy while navigating the halls to his private hideaway. He ate quickly checked his watch and stuffed a couple more energy bars into his pockets. A team was due off world for a mineral survey and he needed to go through with them if he was going to get the next phase of the plan under way.

* * *

And here's a chapter I prepared earlier...you can follow along at home for the directions after the show.

:D Cynic


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Meanwhile....

Teal'c was greeted at the gate by Raknor and Bratac.

"It is good to see you both," said Teal'c, grasping hands with each of them in turn.

"Let us walk, we have quarters prepared for you," said Raknor.

"You bring news of the Tauri?" asked Bratac, "We had not thought to hear from you for some time."

"But I come here on your summons," said Teal'c.

"We have only just arrived the council is in recess for the harvest, we came because you sent word that you were coming," said Raknor.

"This is most strange," said Bratac, he looked at Teal'c, "But you do not seem surprised by this."

"I had thought the timing was too…convenient."

"And is it also convenient that a young man was sent through to meet you from the Tauri off world base?" asked Raknor. Teal'c perked up at this.

"I had not requested assistance in any matter," he said.

"Then let us go and find out what he is doing here," said Bratac, the three men walked up the steps into the council chamber building.

Raknor led to way off the main corridor to a side room, the three men entered and found a man leaning over the table examining some scrolls. At the sound he looked up at them and smiled.

"About time," he said, "I've been here for a week already!"

"Daniel Jackson," said Teal'c his face split into a grin, took two strides across the room and gave him a hug, "It is good to see you are well, though I am surprised to see you are not on earth."

"That's the plan Teal'c," Daniel was grinning like a fiend. Raknor looked totally confused.

"But you are not the one who came through the gate," he said.

"It's complicated," said Daniel.

"Daniel Jackson had the powers of the Ancients," said Teal'c.

"Okay, not so complicated," said Daniel.

"How is this possible?" asked Bratac.

"Let's leave that for another time, shall we?" said Daniel, "We have to go here," he pointed to a section of the scroll he'd been looking at on the table. The part he pointed two held a gate address.

"What are we doing there Daniel Jackson?"

"What we always do Teal'c, try to stop someone from taking over the galaxy."

* * *

Daniel was walking across the moors a mist rolling around him, the sun not yet high enough to have burned it away. He gathered his thick cloak around his shoulders and continued doggedly to his goal. It would be the last time he'd make the trip he knew, he was growing old and his spirit felt the tug from The Others asking him to return to them. It would be easy to do so, but he was not ready yet, he had to get his research computer from the mound the primitives had names Avalon. It was all he had left of his work, now Morgan had destroyed the device. Artorius was with the Others now, and the knights had been seeded to several planets an entrusted with their own parts of the device. He would go through the gate soon, and leave Earth for the last time. He would return to his library and maybe get some sleep. It had been too many years, and too much had happened since he'd chosen to descend this last time he would not chose that path again. He finally reached the edge of the mound he touched a rock on the ground and rings rose up around him. He turned as he rematerialized and a hand came down on his shoulder.

"Daniel Jackson."

Daniel jumped and blinked and managed to gather his wits about him enough to remember he was in Merlin's library with Teal'c. He sat up looking at the mass of papers on the table in front of him.

"Teal'c," he said, "is everything okay?"

"I was just going inquire the same thing of you," said Teal'c, "Would you not sleep more comfortably in your quarters?"

"I can't sleep, I have to finish," he started gathering the papers and sorting them trying to find where he left off.

"We have already found 7 of the keys you say we need, and you say O'Neill has the eighth."

"But there are 12 Major Knights of the round table. We need them all for this to work. It has to work; we still need 4 more keys. I need anything from Lancelot, Gwain, Kay, and Tristan."

"Raknor and Bractac left yesterday to the location you discovered for Lancelot's key, they had yet to return. Do you not remember?" Teal'c looked concerned.

"Of course, I'm sure they'll find it, but in case they don't, I need to keep looking."

"You require rest, your plan will collapse if you do. I have been visited by the spirit of Janet Frasier and we are in agreement." Teal'c took Daniel by the arm and lifted him out of his seat. Daniel could have stopped him he could have fought to stay, but he knew he was wasted, and if Janet was coming out again he must be near comatose.

"Alright," said Daniel, "I'll take a nap, a few hours." He allowed Teal'c to lead him to a cot set up in another room and crawled on to it only stopping to remove his glasses and hand them on the side.

"I will wake you when Raknor and Bratac arrive with the ninth key." Teal'c looked down at his friend, and found he was already asleep and dreaming.

* * *

Daniel walked into the darkened room he could see a card table in the center lit from above. Three people sat around munching pretzels laughing. Their faces shadowed until he came closer.

"Daniel!" called Janet as he came to stand by the table, "come sit we need a fourth." Daniel sat warily in the empty chair.

"Five card stud, deuces are wild," said the dealer, who was Merlin; flicking the cards out, everyone one nodded and picked up their hand. Other than Janet the other players were still in shadow.

"I'm dreaming," said Daniel pulling his cards towards him.

"I sure hope so, honey," said Janet frowning at her cards, "I keep telling you to take it easy, but even asleep your mind just keeps tap-tapping away."

"What do you mean? I'm doing what you said; I'm looking for the keys."

"You still haven't figured out what it means," said Janet, discarding one card and tapping to be dealt another. The players on the dealer's right bet and the one next to Daniel folded. Merlin looked at him.

"Oh," said Daniel, "err call." He threw one of the chips he had into the middle, "What do you mean?" he asked Janet.

"You haven't even looked at your cards," she said folding.

"It doesn't matter," said Daniel.

"Of course it does," said Janet, "this is a high stakes game."

"What are we playing for?" asked Daniel.

"The galaxy," said the player next to the dealer, her voice was smooth as silk, and scarily familiar.

"Adria," said Daniel, "This is my dream you have no power here."

Adria smiled, "You think so?" she laid out her cards, two pair, queens and 6's. She reached for the pot, but Daniel stopped her.

"Wait," he said, "I didn't fold."

"You don't even know what cards you have," she said, "You could have nothing."

Daniel flipped over his cards.

"Two pair," said Janet, "Aces and eights, he wins."

"Don't count it yet," said Adria as Daniel gathered the chips. "That's a Dead man's hand."

Merlin gathered all the cards together and straightened the deck laid it down in front of Daniel and said, "Your deal."

* * *

Happy Day everyone! Unless you're reading at night in which case Happy Night! That's a safe choice right? I do not wish to offend. :D Cynic


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Teal'c met with Bratac outside the library in the village.

"We have the key," said Bratac, "How is Daniel Jackson?"

"He sleeps for now, but he won't truly rest until we are finished."

"Finished finding the keys or finished defeating the Ori army?" asked Bratac.

"Let us make sure that both things happen, sooner rather than later," said Teal'c looking at his friend with concern.

"What of the other Tauri? Are they to help us in this battle?"

"I received a message from O'Neill, it was circumspect but I believe he will do his best to meet us at the designated co-ordinates. I worry that they will get here too late."

"They must come," said Bratac, "we need the ship to reach the planet. It has no Stargate and we have no capable ships in the area that can reach us in time. We have just received word that Adria has rejoined the fleet, and they are moving more swiftly than ever against any opposition to Origin."

Teal'c nodded, "I am aware, but pushing harder will not bring Daniel Jackson any closer to the answers we seek, and it may break what little control he has left."

"He is strong, much stronger than I believed when I first met him, now he has the power of the Ancients flowing through him and yet you doubt his strength?"

"Never," said Teal'c, "he is the strongest man I know, he will stand whatever it takes to win this battle, and save us all. But I fear that he will use everything he has to fight, and there will be nothing left to live on with after it is all over."

"You believe this will kill him?"

"I believe that it will take him to the brink and it is up to us to make sure he doesn't fall off that edge."

* * *

Daniel chewed on the end of his pencil, contemplating the pages on the desk before him. He reached for the mug beside him, and realized it was empty, a glance at the coffee machine he kept in the corner of his office showed it to be empty as well.

"Time for a new pot," he sighed, stood up stretched and grabbed the empty carafe and walked out into the hallway.

"This is the best way to do it," said Janet meeting him in the hallway and walking with him to the fountain, though Daniel didn't acknowledge her presence. "Just relax and the problem will solve itself," she continued, "work it and know it, and then relax. In that one moment that you're not consciously thinking about finding the answer, there it is." Daniel filled the carafe at the water fountain, yawning he blinked absently at the notice board in the hallway, a look of realization dawned on his face and he was gone, back up the corridor, water sloshing in his wake. "That's my boy," said Janet.

Daniel jerked awake, just as Teal'c came in to tell him about Bratac's return.

"I've got it!" said Daniel, "I know where the other keys are!"

* * *

Jack had the key, Vala had a Zat and they were both waiting impatiently for Carter to get around to showing them the hangar where the bounty hunter's ship had been stored. But Sam was taking the scenic route around the base, they'd seen the botany labs, the physics labs, the chemistry labs, the bio-labs, and the never to be repeated visit to the alien holding facility that had held Nero and had yet to be cleaned of his disgusting final meal.

Jack understood the need to keep up appearances, but this was getting tedious.

"Carter, you know I'm a pilot by trade I was hoping to get a look at that Alkesh that was captured not too long ago," said Jack.

Sam was in full tour-guide mode; she just smiled and checked her watch. "We're getting to that General, in fact after your tour of the linguistics labs we'll be just in time to see a test flight of the Alkesh following its repair."

"Well, what are we standing around here for?" said Jack, "I'd love to see those linguistics labs!" Vala grinned at Sam and they walked down the hall together.

* * *

The Alkesh sat in the middle of the huge warehouse; a few techs were running back and forth between it and their laptops set up at the side. Mitchell was doing pre-flight checks and smiled when Sam, Jack and Vala entered the hangar. Sam walked up to one of the technicians standing by the side of the room. Jack and Vala stayed off to the side.

"What do you think?" asked Jack scanning the room.

"Not impossible," said Vala, "but it could get messy."

"How about we invite ourselves for a test drive?"

"You're sneaky," said Vala, wrapping her arm around Jack's.

"I know," said Jack smirking, waiting for his opening. Mitchell stood from his preflight check and waved them over, "Showtime."

* * *

This story won't leave alone, so slowly but surely we are going to get to end of this thing, together. Hope you enjoy!

Later, Cynic


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Daniel stood on tip-toes while crossing the complex patterned floor from one side of the room to the other. He had good reason to believe that a single miss-step would cause a large section of the floor to disappear, as it had happened when he'd first stepped into the room, only Teal'c's quick hands on his jacket had saved him from a nasty fall. The pattern he'd deciphered seemed correct as no more of the floor had fallen away. But it required someone with long legs and quick steps to make it to the end. Teal'c waiting by the doorway, with Bra'tac.

"Tell me again, why I'm the one doing the hopscotch," said Daniel, leaping lightly to another tile.

"You are the only one who is able to discern the pattern as you progress, and I am not as light on my feet as I once was," said Teal'c.

"A likely story," said Daniel as he narrowly avoided doing a nasty split as he jumped to the altar at the back of the room. The key sat locked in place in the stone, which is why Daniel hadn't used his abilities to remove it. He looked at the stone altar, it was another riddle, one of several they'd already encountered recovering the keys. He frowned reading the riddle over twice.

"Never seen, never was, but always will be."

He glanced at Teal'c with a grin, and spoke to the altar. "Crastanus," The mechanism grated and the key was released.

"Tomorrow," said Daniel handing Teal'c the key when he got back to the door, "that which is never seen, and never was, but always will be."

"What of our tomorrow DanielJackson?" asked Teal'c. Daniel smiled and took a step out of the exit only to find the temple surrounded by Ori soldiers. He quickly pushed Teal'c back inside with his power and held him out of sight in the doorway.

"Hold in the name of the Origin."

Daniel recognized their leader, just as he was recognized himself. "You will burn in the fires of Celestas for the blasphemy you have committed," said Tomin; Vala's husband.

*******

The Alkesh took off without any problems, and Mitchell engaged the cloak immediately.

"Alkesh you are cleared for test flight, don't put any dings in her Shaft we just got it fixed."

"Roger that flight, I'm going to take her up to a high orbit give it once around the planet and give our visitors a good view."

"You have a go for a low orbit, but the life support has been having some problems, so I wouldn't try leaving the solar system, Shaft," Jack pulled a face at this news, but Mitchell just shrugged. "Roger that Shaft out."

Vala turned to Sam who rolled her eyes and walked out towards the engine room. Vala followed her.

"Take her out slow, and don't bolt until Carter gives us the all clear," said Jack.

"The all clear for what, sir?" asked Mitchell.

"We've had more than a couple ships go missing over the years; we've taken steps to avoid it happening again. Carter's disabling the subspace transmitter, and the computer's back door program. When she signals hit the gas."

Just then Sam's voice came through the ship's intercom. "All clear, sir."

The Alkesh jumped to hyperspace immediately after clearing earth's orbit, much to the shock and dismay of the technicians below monitoring the flight.

"So where are we going sir?" asked Mitchell.

"You don't know?" asked Jack.

"No, I assumed that Jackson gave you coordinates."

"No," said Jack, "Daniel gave me a key, and some story about an Ancient device. What did he give you?"

"You," Mitchell said.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Jackson gave me you. He said that after he got out of the base, he'd contact you and give you what we needed."

"Well that's great!" Jack leaned over on to the com system, "Carter, Vala get up here we need to have a pow wow." He turned back to Mitchell, "Put it on auto pilot for a couple of minutes we need to compare notes."

Sam and Vala came up from the engine room; Sam had shed her uniform jacket and rolled up the sleeves on her shirt. Vala had shed her suit jacket and rolled up her knee length skirt a couple of inches. Jack shook his head, and Mitchell smirked.

"Carter, what's the plan?" asked Jack.

"Plan, sir?" asked Sam, a little taken back, "This is the plan, right?"

"Right, but where do we go from here? Tell me Daniel gave you a hint."

"No sir, we only discussed his escaping the base."

"But Daniel didn't escape the base," said Vala.

"What are you talking about?" said Mitchell, "Of course he escaped the plan went without a hitch, everyone was looking for him to get off the planet, when he was actually coming out the topside gate. Don't tell me he went through without back up."

"Actually," said Vala, "I think he stayed on base for a while, he used his projection thing to lead me, to Jack and give Jack the message about the key and to come here."

"He must have walked through the gate with one of the other teams after the frenzy died down," said Sam, "He can't still be on base right?"

"Right," said Jack, "he needed us to get the ship, but he needed to do something else while we get it."

"Teal'c!" said Mitchell in realization, "I thought it was too convenient that both Sam and I are transferred and Teal'c gets an emergency call from the High Council."

"High Council is not in session, it's Harvest on the Jaffa calendar," said Jack. No one said anything for a full minute. "What? I'm a General for crying out loud! I'm surprised Landry didn't know that."

"Maybe he did," said Vala, with a shrug.

"This doesn't help us with the matter of hand," said Jack, "Where are we going?"

"Oh!" said Vala, pulling a folded yellow Post-it note from her bra, "This was on the ID Daniel sent for me." Jack took it and opened it; it was a series of numbers. He handed it to Sam.

"Oh," said Sam, taking the co-pilot's seat and staring to punch in controls on the console, "Course laid-in," she said.

"But where are we going?" asked Jack.

"I've no idea," said Sam.

* * *

It's not often Sam can say she doesn't know something, so I thought that was a good line to leave it on. :) Cynic


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Daniel stood facing the Ori soldiers. Teal'c raised his weapon ready to strike as he exited the building, but Daniel sent him a telepathic message to stay back.

There were too many for Daniel to use his mind powers on. While he could pull the staffs from their hands; the gauntlet weapons were attached to their gloves. And as he tried to figure that one out; a Prior stepped out beside Tomin.

"Daniel Jackson, the Orici will be pleased we have found you," said the Prior

"I bet," said Daniel "is she here on a ship?"

"We spread Origin through the gateways; we will take you to the planet where the Orici is preaching," said the Prior.

"Wait," said Tomin, "why are you here? Where are you friends?"

"I'm alone," said Daniel.

"Why would your people allow you to come to here without protection?" asked Tomin.

"I left earth," said Daniel.

"Why?"

"What does it matter? I'm alone!" cried Daniel.

"Search the temple," said Tomin, and two warriors went forward to the doorway. Teal'c stood silently and Daniel made sure that all they saw was an empty room. The two men rejoined the ranks.

"You will reveal all to the Orici," said the Prior, he raised his staff and it glowed. Daniel tried to pull the staff from his hand with his mind, but the energy had already reached him, and he simply dropped to the floor.

* * *

Teal'c watched with great restraint at his friend was picked up and carried away. He waited until the soldiers were some distance away before tailing them to the Stargate and memorizing the address. He would need some help if he was going to rescue his friend from the hands of the Ori army.

Once the soldiers had all left, Teal'c quickly dialed Merlin's library and walked through, he met Bra'tac and Rak'nor, and together they planned their rescue.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" asked Vala sitting on the console next to Sam in the cockpit.

"No," said Sam not for the first time.

"…"

"What about now?" Sam turned and glared at Jack, her face fighting a smile.

"No, we are not there yet!" she said.

"But…" Vala started.

"But nothing! Now you two; be good or I'll turn this ship around and we'll never get there!" Sam broke out laughing.

"Aw, you ruined it!" said Vala.

"I win," said Jack grinning, "I told you she'd crack in less than an hour."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sam.

"Jack told me this is a game that people from earth play on long journeys," said Vala, "he said you'd snap before an hour, but I thought you had more staying power."

"You didn't take into account that she's been playing tour guide for the past couple of hours, and that she's been dealing solely with a bunch of tech geeks for the last few weeks. Our antics are breath of fresh air and she wanted to share in the fun," said Jack.

"Or maybe I've just been around you too long, Sir," said Sam.

"That's what Daniel says," said Vala.

"What can I say? Jack said grinning, "I'm a bad influence."

Sam shook her head and turned back the control console checking readouts.

"Seriously," said Jack, "How long 'til we get there; wherever there might be?"

"At present course and speed we will reach our destination in approximately sixteen hours," said Sam.

"Great," said Jack, "so did anyone bring snacks, or a deck of cards? I prefer both."

Mitchell came into the cockpit at that moment coming from the cargo bay.

"Hey, are we there yet?" Sam, Jack and Vala all burst out laughing.

* * *

Daniel woke up and thought he was blind, so total was the darkness that surrounded him. He went to raise his hand in front of his face, but his hand hit the top of wherever he was trapped. Daniel moved his legs to test the bounds of his prison and struggled not to hyperventilate as he realized how small the space was. He estimated there was perhaps six inches space above where he lay, and bare inches at his toes, his head struck the top of the box when he moved. Daniel struggled for calm, he was sealed in a coffin and nothing he could do now would help him, if he had been buried alive.

* * *

Oh, poor Daniel, well at least the guys are having fun right? :D later Cynic


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Teal'c feared for the life of his friend, but he refused to allow that fear to stop him from doing what was needed. The Ori army had to be stopped at all costs, Daniel Jackson understood this; it was why he had taken the risk upon himself and fled earth. The keys needed to be in the hands of SG-1 and O'Neill, but they also needed Daniel Jackson to activate the machine. He had not told them how the device worked.

Teal'c gave the final key to Rak'nor trusting his friend to deliver it and a message to his teammates. He and Bra'tac would endeavor to rescue Daniel Jackson from Adria, hopefully before it was too late.

* * *

Daniel had not been buried alive, but he was actually trying to figure out if that was a good thing. The coffin was airtight, so when they lifted the lid, Daniel was in no condition to fight; simply taking a breath took all his energy, and concentration. He was tipped unceremoniously out of the box and onto the very familiar floor of an Ori ship. Daniel made it to his knees, but stayed there still struggling for his next breath.

"Daniel Jackson."

Daniel closed his eyes not willing to admit to himself that he'd delivered himself here to the one being in the galaxy that was stronger than him.

"Adria," he said though his voice sounded strained.

"What have you done to him?" She actually sounded upset.

"We were told of his great treachery Orici," Daniel recognized the voice of the prior, "He was brought here vacuos spiritas, to be prepared for your will."

"You presume much Prior," said Adria.

Daniel took a moment from his efforts to breathe to look up. Adria stood over him, her face cold and unreadable as ever. She crouched down beside him. "Are you okay?" she ran her fingers over his cheek and then down his neck and chest. His breathing eased as his lungs no longer heaved against his chest.

"Thank you," he said, keeping his eyes cast downward and trying not to shrug off her touch that was lingering on his shoulder. Concentrating on projecting the thoughts she wanted to read from his mind. Adria smiled bringing her hand back up to his face.

"You are alone," she said reading his mind, "Where are your friends?"

"I left them," said Daniel, "they tried to kill me, because they thought," he swallowed, "they thought I was still a Prior."

"Are you still a Prior?"

Daniel shook his head mournfully, "The knowledge of Merlin was too much; he made it so that it would fade with time. The knowledge and your gifts are gone."

"Gifts?" The Prior cried, "You used the gift to betray the Ori!" He looked ready to burst, but Adria put up her hand.

"Silence! I will deal with our lost soul myself, I neither need nor want your council Prior leave us."

"I serve the Orici," said Daniel glaring at the Prior as he left.

"Of course you do," said Adria, staring into his soul and reading the pain there, "You wanted to give it all to me."

"I know ascended beings," said Daniel, "they would never have allowed you to ascend and share the power you've gleaned from this galaxy." Daniel put a tentative hand on Adria's still cupping his face. "I did it all for you."

"No," said Adria, "you did it for us." She pulled him forward and kissed him hard holding him to her, he fought not to struggle, but in the back of his mind blocked from her view, he screamed and screamed.

* * *

Rak'nor stepped through the Stargate and walked up the hill nearby he could see the ship had already landed, and knew his arrival had been noted when the door unfolded at the side.

"Rak'nor!" Sam called to him as she exited, "I thought Daniel would be here."

"Daniel Jackson, has been captured by the soldiers of the Ori," said Rak'nor.

"What?" Jack cried following Sam out of the ship.

"Teal'c and Bra'tac have gone after him, they sent me to meet you so we can continue to Merlin's device.

"Tell me they took a Jaffa army, to take on the soldiers of the Ori, and they didn't go alone," said Jack.

"I cannot," said Rak'nor, "we must go I have brought the knights keys so we may prepare the device."

"It isn't here?" asked Sam.

"No, this is the closest planet with a Stargate to the planet Dr Jackson has discovered the weapon on."

"You have the co-ordinates of this planet?" asked Jack.

"I do," said Rak'nor.

"And Teal'c and Bra'tac went to get Daniel?" asked Jack.

"They did."

"Do you know where they went?"

"I do not."

"What? You don't know where they are?" Jack asked his voice growing calm in his anger.

"Teal'c didn't think it was wise that I be told the location of Adria's ship."

"He's with Adria!" cried Jack outraged.

"God no!" gasped Sam.

* * *

Teal'c finished securing the bindings on the guard he had zatted, and adjusted the uniform he now wore. Bra'tac finished doing the same. The two jaffa joined ranks with a passing band of Ori warriors headed for the ship currently sitting on the ground not far away.

* * *

Daniel itched at his collar, the fine silk of the Ori tunic fit him perfectly, but he still felt stifled. Adria had read what he'd wanted her to; she now believed he'd sent Merlin's weapon to the Ori for her, so she could have sole control over the power leached from the Ori's followers. Even now she felt the boost, Daniel felt it too every time she kissed him and he fought down a shudder at that thought. Lucky for him the Orici was to be kept pure, so her advances were kept to a minimum. She had been promised to the Orisire a man just like her had been prophesied delivered by the Ori.

Daniel had the power to overcome all the guards, but he wasn't sure he could take a Prior head to head let alone more than one. He had tried to project into one of the Prior's minds, to make himself invisible but it hadn't worked. He could control what they saw in his own mind but he could not control their minds. Adria's power was stronger than his, he could feel it, but her arrogance was her weakness, she truly believed that she had turned him, in spite of Merlin's power. She hadn't probed too deep into his mind, the walls he'd put up were intact she hadn't even reached them.

* * *

Jack was sat alone on a rock watching the second sun set.

"We should go," Raknor stood behind him.

"I know we should," But Jack didn't move.

"General."

"I'm not leaving him again, and waiting a little longer won't make any difference."

"Daniel Jackson has said we should not wait."

"He does that," said Jack, "but we owe him, so we'll give it a little time."

* * *

TA DAH! Okay, so I know it took a while, but what can I say RL sucks rocks. I hope this chapter was worth the wait and rest assured the next one should be on it's way soon. Later, Cynic


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